Until I Burn Away
by Dee Moyza
Summary: Having become the Sorceress' Knight, Seifer finds the title difficult to live up to. To demonstrate his loyalty, he makes a promise – one that will bind him for all time. In-game through post-game, multi-chapter. Written for the 2019 Successor Challenge. [Rated T for strong language, disturbing imagery, some blood and mild gore (in the final chapter).]
1. Knight

_** Author's Note: This story contains dialogue from the game script. **_

_(Disclaimer: As a work of fanfiction, the creation of this piece does not imply ownership of the Final Fantasy franchise, its characters, or any affiliated intellectual property.)_

* * *

She was pretty, but _damn_, was she boring. Independence this, Forest Owls that, a "secret" base that rumbled through town on rails. Still, Seifer listened. He smiled, he nodded, he encouraged her, because she was his one-way ticket to heroism.

"We're working on a new plan," Rinoa said, her dark eyes wide over the cup of coffee she held inches from her lips. "This time, we're going straight to the top – Vinzer Deling." She spat out the name like something rotten, then took a long swig from her cup as if to clear the taste from her mouth.

"Really?" Seifer slid his cup aside, the coffee in it untouched. Timber coffee was weak compared to Balamb's, and had a strange, musty aroma, as if it had been filtered through an old sock. He didn't want to tell Rinoa how much he hated it when she'd ordered two cups that morning, and he had borne the sickly steam wafting from it with a grace he didn't know he possessed. "What do you plan to do? Capture him? Kill him?"

"Only the first … ideally. We're going to capture him and present our demands. We are going to hold him hostage and force him to free Timber."

"Yeah … I don't think that's gonna work."

"Why not?"

"A little thing called the Galbadian Army. They'll be here faster than you can say 'Deling sucks,' and, with no firepower of your own, you guys are history."

"I know that!" Rinoa slammed her cup on the table, hot coffee sloshing over her hand. She didn't flinch; Seifer was impressed. "That's why I said we're _working _on it. We weren't going to go out and try that right now!"

"But you will, someday? Where're you gonna get your army then? I don't think Galbadia will let you guys organize."

"We'll hire an army."

Seifer laughed.

"I'm serious! I have money, and the rest of the Owls are chipping in. We're going to hire people to help us, to fight alongside us." She leaned forward and looked him straight in the eyes. "We're going to hire SeeD."

Seifer's shoulders spasmed at the name of the organization he'd failed to join – for three years running. His last attempt had ended abruptly, giving him no chance to prove himself. Dispatched to neutralize a small skirmish between Galbadian and Dollet forces in the Yaulny Canyon, everything was going well for Seifer until another cadet stepped in and took out an enemy he had engaged. Nobody stole Seifer Almasy's kills, and he let the unfortunate cadet know that in no uncertain terms. Minutes later, he was back in the combat vehicle, fighting the effects of a Sleep spell, his rage smoldering under Xu's glare.

After the headmaster had given him his annual "talking-to" – something about talent, intuition, and obedience – he had fled to Timber to lick his wounds and heal his ego. A swaggering, good-looking stranger in this town, he received no shortage of positive attention from the local ladies, and had begun amassing something of a backwoods harem when Rinoa stopped him outside of the Timber Hotel one evening.

"You," she said, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I heard you were from Balamb. That you studied at Garden. Is that right?"

"Who wants to know?"

"The Forest Owls."

As if waiting for their cue, two young men stepped from the shadows of the building across the street and flanked Rinoa. They tried their best to look intimidating, but Seifer wagered he could knock both of them over with a single finger. He looked from one member of the motley group before him to the next, then laughed, long and loud.

"What's so funny?" Rinoa asked.

"You are. All of you." Seifer wiped his eyes. "Fine, you got me. I'm from Balamb Garden. Now, do you mind telling me who the hell you guys are?"

That was the beginning. Once Seifer learned of the Forest Owls' mission, the company of women took a back seat to the promise of fame. Rinoa was open with her criticism of Galbadia and President Deling, and she was extremely forthcoming about the Forest Owls' plans. She looked to Seifer for help with strategy, and as they worked together, she warmed to him. She laughed at his jokes, complimented his suggestions, and seemed to draw on his confidence to bolster her own, carrying herself straight and proud, even in – _especially_ in – the face of the Galbadian soldiers stationed throughout the city.

But beneath her outward assuredness, Rinoa was still vulnerable, still desperate to be heard and understood. An easy target. Seifer figured it couldn't hurt to string her along, until the Forest Owls finally had a plan in place to liberate Timber, and he could swoop in and play savior.

So, he played along with her fantasy, staying one step ahead of her, keeping her at arms' length. Cute as she was, he didn't want to complicate matters, didn't want to muddy his goals. He let Rinoa hold his hand, he kissed her on the cheek, and whenever she moved in for a hug, he shifted and pulled her in with one arm, from the side, like an old buddy. She didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't mind. Personal affection – particularly when coupled with interest in her mission – was enough to keep her attached.

Until now.

Now, she was considering SeeD.

"Good luck with that," Seifer said. "Regular people don't hire SeeD – governments do, big organizations do, the rich and famous do. Garden won't take a second look at your request."

Rinoa frowned and sat back, running a finger along the rim of her coffee cup. "Maybe not," she said finally, "if I submit it the normal way. What if I talk to the headmaster directly? Explain our situation?"

"And just how are you going to do that?"

"Well, I'll call Garden and schedule an appointment –"

"And get turned down." Seifer shrugged. "Again, nobody knows who you are. You could be working for one of Garden's enemies, for all they know. They'll never let you in."

"Even still! There_ has _to be a way." More frowning. Then, slowly, a smile formed on her lips. A mischievous smile, accompanied by raised eyebrows, and, when she looked up, a defiant spark in her eyes. "You. You're the way."

"What?"

She reached across the table and grasped his hands. "You say you're studying to be a SeeD, right? Well, once you get in, you can introduce me to the headmaster, and then I can tell him all about the situation here in Timber!"

"It's not that easy." Seifer slid one hand out from under hers, then lifted her other hand off of his, gingerly, as if he was picking up something unpleasant. "Contrary to what you think, SeeDs don't just pal around with the headmaster all day. There's a system, a hierarchy."

"There's also a party."

"Huh?"

"Oh, don't think I haven't heard! You SeeDs throw a huge party to celebrate graduation. Mina, the oldest girl of the Owls' Tears family, was invited to one a few years ago … before her boyfriend dumped her, of course. Too bad, because he would've been a great person to have on our side." Rinoa was silent for a few moments, no doubt pondering all the opportunities lost due to Mina's romantic misfortune. "But now we have you! I know you won't let us – let _me_ – down." She blinked at him, coyly.

He wanted to retch. Instead, he gave her a confident smile. "Never. You got yourself a deal, and an invitation to next year's party. Better start looking for a dress."

Rinoa squealed and clapped her hands. "Thank you so much! This is it, the plan that will finally work! This time next year, Galbadia will be out of here. What do you say, should we drink to that? I know it's only coffee, but …"

Seifer eyed his cup and tried not to grimace. "Sure." He raised the cup, high enough that Rinoa had to stand to clink it against her own.

"To Timber's future!" she said.

"Timber's future," Seifer parroted, then held his breath and downed the vile drink in a few gulps.

‡ † ‡

"Timber's future is tied to Galbadia's success," one of the guards said, sitting straight in his chair by the entrance to Balamb Garden's Disciplinary Room and gesturing toward the newspaper his coworker was reading. "I don't know what these rebel factions think they're doing, other than shooting themselves in the foot. Timber doesn't have the resources to survive on its own."

"They don't have the resources to hire SeeD, either, but that didn't stop Kramer," the other responded.

Seifer slid open the tiny window on the door to his cell, straining to hear more. What were these guys talking about? Did Rinoa come to the party, after all? Did she talk with Cid? Did Cid actually honor her request? _What was going on?_

The guards interrupted their conversation to interrogate a visitor. Seifer heard Quistis identify herself, and his lips automatically curled into a sneer. He couldn't stand her – her smugness, her unearned confidence, the way she and Xu always teamed up against him. Little Miss Perfect, and he hated her for it.

Before the guards had locked him up, however, he'd heard an interesting rumor: Quistis had been fired from her job as an instructor, no doubt because of his behavior during the field exam. If this was true, it was the best thing that had come of yesterday's disaster. Sometimes the best revenge is completely unplanned.

"Not so smug now, huh, Trepe?" he asked as she approached his cell.

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about," she replied, arms crossed.

"Your job. Or, more to the point, your _lack _of one."

"How do you know about that?"

"Hey, word travels fast here at Garden. And people tend to talk more freely around you when they think you'll be locked up for a while." He laughed. "So, Miss High-and-Mighty, not so hot now, eh?"

"Be quiet."

"Why are you here, anyway? Come to pay your favorite student a little visit? I hope it's not of the _conjugal _variety. I have my standards, you know, and you don't quite fit –"

"Shut up, Seifer!" Quistis punched the door, rattling it and drawing a stern warning from one of the guards. She rubbed her knuckles and glared at Seifer through the window. "I don't want to be here any more than you do. I'm not here to visit; you're my assignment now. I'm to report on your behavior and well-being to Cid three times a day."

"Welcome to hell." Seifer smirked, then recalled what the guards had been talking about and asked Quistis if she knew anything about it.

"Of course. Cid issued a contract to some rebel faction in Timber last night during the party, saying it was an urgent matter. He dispatched SeeDs this morning."

"Who?" Seifer's stomach knotted, and jealousy ran hot through his veins as he waited to hear who would be snatching his chance at being the hero of the revolution.

"Squall, Selphie, and Zell. I suppose Cid figured it was a good warm-up mission –"

"What? Leonhart? Messenger girl? Dincht? Friggin' _Dincht_?" That did it. Nobody stole Seifer's kills, and nobody stole Seifer's glory, especially not _those _three.

Quistis shrugged. "Like I said, Cid must have figured it would be good experience for them –"

"Good experience?" Seifer pounded on the door, and watched Quistis jump back and assume a defensive stance. "Oh, it'll be an experience! They might end up fightin' the whole Galbadian force! And all they send are three rookie SeeD members?" He banged on the door again, longer and harder. "Dammit! I'm going to Timber!"

"You're not going anywhere, Seifer. So I'd advise you to just sit down and relax."

"Don't underestimate me, Trepe."

"I can't. You've set the bar far too low already."

Seifer cursed at her, the words lost in an inarticulate roar. He shook his head and backed up, until all he could see through the little window were the lights on the ceiling in the next room. Then, charging ahead, he flung his weight against the door, feeling it give, hearing the hinges squeal under his assault. He heard Quistis shout, heard the guards arrive, heard someone call for backup. Again and again, Seifer hurled himself at the door, his shoulder throbbing, his ego aflame. As he retreated for another attempt, the door opened and a guard walked in, brandishing a full syringe.

"Now, calm down, buddy," the guard said. "Don't want you hurting yourself."

"Hurting myself?" A grin stretched across Seifer's face. "Oh, I'm not gonna hurt _myself_." He lunged at the guard's legs, knocking him off his feet, then ripped the syringe from the guard's hand and stuck it into his neck. Feeling the man's body go limp beneath him, Seifer rose and faced down the remaining guards crowded around the door. He scanned their faces, one by one, then looked beyond them and locked eyes with Quistis.

"Don't underestimate me, Trepe," he repeated, then rushed toward the guards. He heard shouting, he even heard a gunshot, but these guards were in pathetic shape. He threw punches and twisted arms, he broke noses and slammed heads together. On the way out, he elbowed Quistis in the chest, leaving her gasping on the floor, before stepping behind the desk to retrieve his gunblade.

He tore through Balamb Garden, shoving aside anyone who got in his way, administering a few punches to those who tried to do more. He headed for the parking garage, hoping there might be a car ready for him to use. In the first lucky break he'd had in what felt like forever, a female SeeD was just exiting a vehicle. A punch to the back of her head, a crouch to pry the keys out of her hand, and Seifer was behind the wheel, pulling out of Garden and setting his sights on the town of Balamb.

He parked the car at the harbor, leaving the keys inside for the benefit of any intrepid thief, and looked for a way off the island. He could take a ferry to Dollet, and a train from there to Timber, but that would take too long. The train from Balamb to Timber might arrive before then, but it was a risk to walk back into town.

Still, that's what he did, slouching low to avoid detection, hugging the station wall until the train arrived. He settled into his seat, and sighed as the train rolled into the tunnel.

"Seifer."

He started at the sound of his own name, and looked up. There stood Quistis, sweaty and disheveled, breathing heavily, holding a pair of heavy metal handcuffs.

"You're out of luck, Seifer," she said, reaching for his hands.

"Not so fast, Trepe! In case you haven't noticed, this train's goin' the wrong way."

"Then you'll just have a much longer ride." She grabbed his arm, slapped one cuff on his wrist and the other around the arm of the seat, which was bolted to the floor.

"Oh, nice one." Seifer glowered at her. "What if I have to go to the bathroom?"

"Go in your pants. Goodness knows, that would be the least problematic thing you've done today."

"You're all heart. That must be why everyone adores you. Well, everyone but Cid. He's the only one brave enough to put you in your pla—ouch!" The skin on Seifer's shin split beneath the toe of Quistis' boot. He felt blood run down his leg and cursed. "How about a Cure spell, Trepe?"

"I'll think about it. When we get back to Balamb."

The ride was tense and long, and Seifer's rage boiled harder with each passing minute. He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, and swore he could feel his wrist getting hotter inside the handcuff. He glanced at the cuff, and realized it wasn't only his imagination. The metal glowed where it touched his skin, heated from the intensity of the energy within him. He'd gotten so angry, so worked up, his body thought he was in critical status, and the Chi he relied on to execute his Limit Break was growing stronger in him the longer he stewed.

He laughed, and felt the metal cool down.

That wouldn't do.

So, for the rest of the ride to Timber, Seifer slumped in his seat and focused on his anger, on thoughts of jealousy, resentment, disappointment. As the train exited the tunnel, he used the momentary blindness caused by the sunlight to pull the heat-stressed links of the handcuffs apart, then gave Quistis his most self-satisfied grin as the train squealed to a halt.

"Well," he said, rising and relishing the growing realization on Quistis' face, "so long, Trepe. It's been fun." He bolted for the exit, shoving passengers aside and tossing luggage behind him to block Quistis' path. He heard her shouting, felt the tingle of a spell on the back of his neck, and ducked, letting some unfortunate bystander bear the brunt of a Blizzaga.

He exited the train and was headed for the platform stairs when Quistis caught the collar of his coat and jerked him back. He slowed and waited for her to catch up.

"That's enough, Seifer," she growled.

"Oh, dear, where are my manners?" he said, taking hold of her arm. "Ladies first." He pulled her forward, she lost her footing, and tumbled down the stairs. He descended the staircase three steps at a time, and headed straight for the Timber Maniacs building, close as it was to the houses of other resistance members. The leader of the Forest Fox told him she hadn't seen Rinoa, but that she'd heard Deling was in the Timber TV Station, and that Rinoa might end up there, as well.

Seifer nodded, and, with a recovered Quistis on his heels, headed toward the TV station. He shouldered past the guard and into the broadcast studio, and who did he find there but the man, himself: Vinzer Deling.

_Perfect._

He didn't need to be a SeeD. He didn't even need to be a Forest Owl. All he needed to do was march right up to the man at the podium, grab his flabby body, and draw Hyperion's blade across his throat. Blood and glory, at his fingertips. Seifer took a step forward and felt his heart leap to his throat, felt his body tremble with a kind of excitement and desire he'd never known. So close. So _close_ … but he'd been spotted. He'd have to forgo enjoying the moment and just finish the job. He charged forward, fighting off bodyguards and broadcast technicians, seizing Deling and laying his blade against the president's throat.

Meanwhile, Quistis had abandoned her pursuit, and instead spoke to the camera, requesting backup. It arrived, unfortunately, within minutes, and in the form of Balamb Garden's three newest SeeDs.

Squall glared at Seifer. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It's obvious, ain't it?" Seifer replied, backing toward the edge of the stage with Deling. "What are you planning to do with this guy?"

Silence. Just like this bunch, to be too chicken to admit to their real objective. Seifer smirked and backed away a few steps more. Deling squirmed in his grasp and Seifer pressed Hyperion closer to his throat, hoping the Galbadian president wouldn't notice the shaking in his hands. A fraction of an inch deeper, a swift sideways pull, and the deed would be done. Timber would be free. And Seifer would be a hero.

So why couldn't he do it? He'd killed before; this shouldn't be any different. Instead, he took another step backwards.

"Instructor, I know!" Zell's voice cut through his thoughts. "You're gonna take this stupid idiot back to Garden, right?"

Seifer's muscles tensed.

Do it. Do it _now_.

But his arm refused to move.

Deling chuckled. "I see … so you all are from Garden," he said. "Should anything happen to me, the entire Galbadian military will undoubtedly crush Garden." He nudged Seifer with his shoulder and said breezily, "You can let go of me, now."

"Not a chance," Seifer hissed into his ear, then looked at Zell. "Nice going, Chicken-wuss! You and your stupid big mouth! Take care of this mess, Instructor and Mr. _Leader_!" He walked backwards off the stage and into the next room, scanning his surroundings for an exit. As he approached a curtained-off area, a chill ran down his spine, and he froze. Deling chuckled again, low and throaty, as if he knew what was coming.

Was this a trap? Had Deling planned for this all along?

"Poor, poor boy."

A feminine voice came from behind the curtain, followed by a woman in a slinky black dress, wearing a mask that resembled a large bird's beak. She turned to Seifer and repeated herself.

"Stay away from me!" Seifer shouted, his voice cracking. Embarrassed, he reinforced his grip on Deling.

The woman laughed, a thin, cold sound that made Seifer's hair stand on end. She muttered something about a boy and a man, something about Seifer being caught between the two. Despite his entreaty, she kept advancing, her tone taking on a mocking sympathy.

"You're only a little boy."

Ice turned to fire in Seifer's veins as he vehemently denied her accusation. Who was this woman? What gave her the right to criticize him? His hand trembled violently now, and he considered slicing open Vinzer Deling's throat on the spot, bathing the woman in his blood, and proving to her that Seifer Almasy was no boy; he was _all _man.

But as the woman stood there, her face hidden from view, Seifer's strength slowly drained from his body. Hyperion grew heavy in his hand, and his hold on Deling loosened.

"Come with me to a place of no return," she said, her voice lilting and motherly now. Seifer listened, gliding along on its gentle tones, letting Deling break free of his arms. As Deling fled, Seifer stepped toward the woman, intoxicated by her voice, by her promise of adventure. "Bid farewell to your childhood."

He'd follow her anywhere.

He turned and waved to his former classmates, who watched him as if through glass, then walked behind the curtain, and through darkness that seemed to give way for him.

He emerged in a dim room hung with sheer drapes, and devoid of furniture save for a large chair in its center. The woman walked to the chair and sat down, and her mask retreated from her face. She smiled, looking up at Seifer through mesmerizing yellow eyes.

"Hello, Seifer," she said.

"How do you know my name?" Seifer studied her features, familiarity gnawing at the back of his mind.

"I know a lot more about you than you think. And about your little friends back there."

"Who are you?"

"I am Sorceress Edea. And I once knew a little boy with a thirst for adventure, a little boy who dreamed of becoming a knight." She motioned him over and took his hand, her fingers cold against his skin. "He had many false starts, but his heart was always in the same place. Now, he is a boy no longer, and his dream is a dream no more."

She rose, and as she did so, Seifer felt an inexplicable compulsion to kneel before her. She laughed.

"That's it," she said. "You are a quick learner. Seifer Almasy. Dreamer, fighter, man." She cupped his face, then leaned down and pressed her icy lips to his forehead. "Seifer Almasy, Sorceress' Knight."


	2. Reunion

Edea had many voices, from soft and familiar to hard and unforgiving. She had as many personalities, as well, and switched between them seemingly on a whim. At times matronly, at others seductive, and at yet others, cold, detached, power-crazed, sadistic. Seifer never knew with which Edea he was speaking until he began, and he could not predict when that personality might shift into another. She could warm his heart, heat his blood, and chill his bones in the space of a single conversation, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't get a dark thrill from that. A healthy dose of fear alongside, of course, but fascination and possibility always won out.

Perhaps a modicum of gratitude, as well. Following her assassination of Vinzer Deling, Edea assumed control of the Galbadian government, and handed over the reins of the military to Seifer.

"Redeem yourself," she'd said, then led him from the commencement room to the podium on the roof of the Presidential Residence. Below, hundreds of Galbadian soldiers filled the plaza, standing at attention in tight formation, waiting for their new orders.

"Servants of Galbadia," Edea began, "welcome to a new era of might, a new era of fear, a new era of Galbadian rule. We stand today on the cusp of a new empire, one that will rival the breadth and scope of that of ancient Dollet. One that will dispense with the useless notion of diplomacy and instead force allegiance through strength alone. One that will raise me up until I am leader of not only Galbadia, but of all men, through all time. An empire that only you can build!"

"Long live Galbadia," the soldiers chanted in unison. "Long live Sorceress Edea!"

Edea smirked. "Good. It seems we are in agreement." She turned to Seifer and motioned him toward the podium. "A conquering force needs a leader. A loyal leader, a strong leader. A leader with youthful ambitions and the vigor to pursue them. A leader like Seifer Almasy."

The soldiers made no sound, no movement to acknowledge Seifer's presence.

"As of this moment," Edea went on, "Sir Seifer will be Commander of all branches of the Galbadian military. You are to do as he says, and to consult him before taking any action. Disobedience and dissent will not be tolerated."

She stepped aside, and Seifer took his place at the podium. He looked over the crowd; then, in a single swift movement, he raised Hyperion to the sky.

Silence.

Seifer remained as he was, glaring at the stubborn soldiers below. From the corner of his eye, he saw someone step forward, and heard a voice speak out against him.

"No," the soldier said. "I refuse to follow him. With all due respect, Sorceress, I do not believe Sir Seifer is an appropriate choice. He is only a boy –"

A cold wind brushed the back of Seifer's neck, and the dissenting soldier fell to the ground, run through with a shard of ice.

"As I mentioned, dissent will not be tolerated," Edea said. "I have chosen Sir Seifer to lead you because I know he is loyal to me, and only me. You would all do well to follow his example. Are there any more objections?" She turned to Seifer and nodded. "Continue."

Seifer drew a deep breath, then repeated his gesture with Hyperion, this time to rapturous applause.

"Long live Galbadia! Long live Sorceress Edea! Long live Sir Seifer!"

He basked in the attention, standing straight and jutting out his chest, feeling pride swirl through his body, power sear through his veins. A fire sparked to life inside him, stoked to a roaring flame by the soldiers' chants, yet abruptly doused by Edea's clawed hand closing around his shoulder. He turned to look at her, and saw her watching the crowd through heavy-lidded eyes, a malicious smile on her lips.

"Yes, fools," she murmured, her expression intact, "I shall live long. You, I'm afraid, will have no such luxury." She took Seifer's other hand and raised it high, closing her eyes and laughing as the cheers rose into the bright morning sky.

Now, in the dim light of the commencement room, she motioned him toward her. Seifer knelt before her, and she stroked his hair, gently, affectionately, as if she was petting a dog, before sliding her hand down his cheek to tilt his face upward.

"Oh, sweet knight," she said, her claws digging into the flesh behind Seifer's jaw, "you have failed me yet again. Those accursed SeeDs have escaped. They escaped the prison, they escaped the missiles. Either they are incredibly lucky, or they have had help." She flexed her fingers, and one claw pierced Seifer's skin. He winced, but otherwise made no protest.

"Considering they are your former comrades," Edea continued, "I am beginning to grow suspicious. I am beginning to wonder where your true loyalties lie."

"With you, Edea," Seifer answered, looking into her eyes. "Always with you."

"Really?" Edea traced the edge of Seifer's ear with her fingertip, sending a shiver through his body, and his blood to all the wrong places. "Then prove it."

"I am at your command." Seifer struggled to keep his voice steady, reeling from a heady mixture of desire and shame.

"I have a new order for you. Come." Edea withdrew her claw from his skin, then rose. She brushed him aside and left the commencement room. Seifer followed on trembling legs, his blood still aflame, scorching his skin where it seeped from his wound. Edea walked deeper into the Presidential Residence, down a long hallway, and into a conference room. She tapped a panel on the table there, and a plan of Galbadia Garden appeared on the monitor.

"Do you know how your little friends managed to escape the missiles?" she asked, her voice edged with ice.

"Reports from survivors say somebody messed with the Error Ratio of the launch," Seifer said.

"In that case, the Error Ratio must have been restored, because our data shows the missiles struck their intended coordinates. No, Balamb Garden survived because it removed itself from the missiles' path."

"Removed?"

Edea tapped the panel again, and the plan zoomed in to a cylindrical structure running through the center of Galbadia Garden. "Balamb Garden is mobile. All Gardens are. They were built around mobile shelters from ancient Centra. Few people know of this capability, and fewer still know how to use it. Somehow, someone at Balamb Garden activated the central structure, but if reports from Balamb Town are to be believed, they do not know how to control it."

"So, what do you want me to do? Send out a ship to intercept them?"

Edea shook her head. "Leave them be, for now. They are helpless so long as they are adrift, and are no threat to our plans."

"Then what's the deal with Galbadia Garden?" Seifer gestured toward the monitor. "Are you afraid someone's gonna take off with it, too? You just said nobody knows how to control it."

"I do." Edea's voice melted into a self-satisfied purr. "I've had plenty of time to familiarize myself with the technology necessary to further my goal. And a mobile base for the Galbadian military will do just fine to that end."

"Mobile base? You want me to secure G-Garden for the military?"

"Yes. Your new objective, Sir Seifer: order a strike on Galbadia Garden. Remove all students and faculty from the premises, kill any who resist. Capture the Garden Master for interrogation. Assemble a force inside Garden – leadership, elite soldiers, infantrymen, paratroopers. Once you have established control, I will train a group of pilots in Garden's operation, and we shall begin the hunt."

"Hunt? For SeeDs, I'm guessing."

"Should we encounter them, yes." Edea's tone was breezy now, and a smile flickered across her lips. "But our main objective now is a woman named Ellone. A woman with a special power, the only person in the world who can give me what I truly desire."

Seifer frowned. "The only person," he repeated.

"Yes." Edea laughed. "All others are expendable, so long as I find her. You would do well to remember that, dear knight."

Seifer swallowed hard and nodded, but made no move to leave.

Edea's smile soured into a scowl. "You have your orders. Go!"

‡ † ‡

Gunfire and screams echoed through the hallway, and hundreds of Galbadia Garden students poured out, crying and shouting, jostling one another, streaming around Seifer in the Garden lobby. One student tripped and fell, and was promptly swallowed by the horde, her lifeless body left behind in the stillness that followed.

A group of soldiers exited the hallway, carrying two more bodies, one of a student, the other of an instructor. One soldier stooped and collected the fleeing girl's corpse, then walked past Seifer without a word, to deposit her body in the growing pile outside.

"East Wing, first floor, is cleared out," an elite soldier reported, saluting Seifer.

"Perfect. Proceed to the second floor. And hurry up! Edea wants this place cleared out today."

The soldier grumbled an affirmative, and led his team toward the stairs. Seifer watched them go, smirking, then looked at the streaks of blood on the floor where the girl had fallen, and sighed. Someone would need to clean that up before Edea arrived; it ruined the presentation.

As Seifer scanned the area for an unoccupied grunt to whom to designate the task, he heard a commotion coming from the North Wing, near the staircase.

"Ow! All right, all right, I'm movin', ya know? Ya don't hafta push!"

Seifer's jaw fell slack when he turned toward the source of the noise and saw Raijin emerge from the hallway, hands on his head, followed by Fujin, in a similar pose. What were they doing _here_? They should be out at sea with the rest of Balamb Garden. He barely had time to assume a neutral expression again before Raijin noticed him and smiled.

"Yo, Seifer! Long time no see! We thought you were dead, ya know?" Raijin began to run toward him, and was rewarded with a sword hilt to the side of the head. He yowled in pain and staggered back, and was subsequently pushed forward again by another soldier.

"Don't shout at the commander," the soldier said. "Show some respect for Sir Seifer!"

"_Sir _Seifer? Naw, that's just regular Seifer. He's our friend, ya know?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," Fujin shouted, then looked at Seifer. "ALIVE. RELIEVED."

The soldier turned from Raijin to Seifer. "You know this guy?"

"Uh … yeah." Seifer stared at his comrades, gritting his teeth. Just what he needed, two simpering clowns latching onto him, tagging after him, reminding him of the life he thought he'd left behind for good. Right away, Raijin had made it clear that he didn't recognize Seifer's new authority; this could be a problem, especially if he continued to ignore it in front of the Galbadian soldiers. Still, Seifer couldn't send them back, even if he managed to locate Balamb Garden; they'd seen too much already. He briefly considered sending both of them to the D-District Prison, but given his recent failure there, he didn't need Raijin sharing personal stories with the inmates and guards, painting him as a friendly fellow, undermining his control.

No, the best thing to do was contain them. Keep them close, dictate their behavior, and force them to accept who he was now. He blinked and looked at the soldier standing next to Raijin, realizing he was being addressed.

"Sir Seifer? What do you want us to do with them?"

"Take them to a cleared area," Seifer replied, trying his best to look menacing. "I'll deal with them personally."

"Yes, Sir."

"See ya later, Seifer!" Raijin called over his shoulder. "We got lots to tell ya 'bout!"

"QUIET." Fujin kicked the back of his leg, and Seifer couldn't help but smile. She'd always been more perceptive than Raijin.

More screams, more students, more bodies. The process repeated around Galbadia Garden, continued on the second floor, to the Garden Master's office on the third. When Seifer received word that the Garden Master had been captured, he ordered him confined to quarters pending Edea's arrival, and ordered the remaining soldiers to clean up the aftermath of their raid.

"With all due respect, Sir Seifer," one said, "we don't have the necessary equipment for that task."

"G-Garden had janitors," Seifer answered. "There must be supply closets around. Find them." He dismissed the soldier with a halfhearted wave and started for the East Wing. A startled cry and a gunshot in the distance told him the soldiers had found their supplies, as well as an unlucky straggler.

He would need to order a more thorough sweep of the building. But that could wait; right now, he had his own unwelcome guests to deal with. He entered a lecture hall and found Raijin and Fujin waiting for him inside.

"What are you doing here?" he asked without preamble.

"Waitin' for you."

"No, you idiot. I mean, what are you doing at G-Garden? Why aren't you in Balamb?"

"Got stuck here."

Seifer crossed his arms, and Fujin sighed.

"EXPLAIN," she told Raijin.

"Huh? Oh, yeah … Cid sent us. Wanted us to deliver a message, ya know, to Squall and the others. But when we got to Timber, the train went right through, dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. Me and Fu walked here, gave the message to the head honcho. Then we saw Squall, and he told us you were dead, but we didn't believe him so we went lookin' for you. Got as far as Deling City, then somethin' big went down there, and we came back, 'cause it looked dangerous, ya know?" Raijin paused and rubbed the back of his head. "Never thought the G-Army'd come here, though. They nearly shot us, ya know?"

Seifer groaned. That sounded exactly like the kind of journey these two would have. That they survived it was also no surprise; idiots seemed to have a special armor, or, at the very least, an excess of luck to compensate for a dearth of brains.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you get in the way," he said.

"OF WHAT?" Fujin asked, frowning at him. Seifer recoiled from her glare. Fujin was only half an idiot, that half being dedicated to sticking with Raijin. Her other half was shrewd and stubborn, with a knack for extracting answers from people, provided she was interested enough in the question.

She was obsessed with this one. "WAY. OF WHAT?" she repeated, venturing to string several words together in her deep, raspy voice.

"Classified operations," Seifer replied, hoping that would satisfy her.

"CLASSIFIED? YOU'RE HERE. WHY?"

_Shit._ She wasn't letting this go. "Special clearance from Galbadia."

"FOR WHAT?"

"I just told you it's classified! Get off my ass!"

She backed away, shaking her head. "NOT SEIFER."

"Huh?"

"Hey, yeah, Fu's right," Raijin said, rising and walking toward Seifer. He leaned forward, and, squinting, studied Seifer from head to toe. "You're actin' funny. Not like the Seifer we know."

"The Seifer you know is dead. Squall already told you that."

"Wha -? Then who are – don't tell me Galbadia makes clones!"

"Oh, for - I didn't really die, you dumbass, I _changed_!" Seifer let out a strangled growl. "I'm not a cadet anymore. I'm not Garden's to kick around. I'm _somebody _now. I'm important."

"WHO?" Fujin demanded, wholly unimpressed by Seifer's proclamation.

"I'm the Sorceress' Knight." He laughed at their startled expressions. "Yeah, that's right, I'm Edea's right-hand man! I command the Galbadian military. Like I said, I'm _somebody_. This has always been my dream, and don't either of you even _think _of cutting in on it!"

He didn't realize, until Fujin and Raijin scrambled backwards, that he had drawn Hyperion and pointed it at them. He blinked and looked at his hand, then let his gaze glide along the length of the gunblade, back to their faces. Would he really have done it? The possibility rippled through his muscles, horrifying and exhilarating at once, and his fingers spasmed around the handle.

Yes, he would have, if he had to.

He'd do whatever it took to live out his dream.

"Got it?" he sneered, feeling his features harden. Raijin and Fujin nodded, and he sheathed Hyperion once more. "The rules are simple: do what I say, and stay out of my way. Anything else, and –" he patted Hyperion's handle, "—well, you get the idea."

"NOT GOING BACK?" Fujin asked, gesturing toward herself and Raijin.

"There's nowhere to go back to, Fujin. Balamb Garden's not there anymore."

"GONE?"

"Aw, c'mon, Seifer," Raijin said with a hearty laugh, "you must be jokin'! What'd it do, fly away?"

Seifer shrugged. "More or less."

"What? Hey, man, you okay? That story's a little weird, even for you, ya know?"

"I'm fine. I'm better than okay. I'm great. And I wasn't joking. But it's all too complicated for you guys to understand, so don't worry about it. Just focus on following my orders. First order –" Seifer spun around as the door to the lecture hall opened. A soldier poked his head through.

"Um, S-sir Seifer? Sorceress Edea has arrived, and she wants to see you immediately." The soldier swallowed hard and ducked out of the doorway, not even waiting to be dismissed.

"Perfect timing." Seifer chuckled and turned back to Raijin and Fujin. "First order: follow me. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

‡ † ‡

"You told me they were competent." Edea stood on the bridge of Galbadia Garden and watched the Galbadian troops retreat from Balamb, led by Raijin and Fujin.

"They're hardly elite material, but they're intimidating, and obedient." Seifer did not meet Edea's eyes, but felt her disapproval washing over him in hot waves. "They _did _hold Balamb for a week."

"And turned up nothing." Edea sighed and moved away from the window. "In the past two weeks, we have searched for Ellone in two different towns, found no trace of her, and been driven from each place by the same group of SeeDs. It is truly beginning to feel like a hunt … one in which I'm on the wrong side."

She shook her head slowly, and when she faced Seifer again, her yellow eyes glowed brightly, boring into his own, robbing him of all thoughts except a desperate desire to serve her every need, and an intense hunger for affection and reward.

"We do not like being hunted, dear knight," she continued, her voice reverberating in layered tones, as if a multitude of voices spoke through her. "We have spent far too long in that position; we carry the pain of far too many souls who were chased to their deaths by mindless hordes driven mad by ignorance and superstition and fear. No, we will not be put in that place again. Not now, not ever."

Her voice had a soothing, hypnotic quality. Transfixed, Seifer approached her. He looked into her face for a moment, then reached out to touch her. "Edea …"

He recoiled when his fingertips touched skin like ice, and staggered backwards as her claws raked across his face.

"On your knees!" Edea cried. "_Never _touch us again! You are but a servant, and a worthless one at that. Now _kneel_. Kneel before us and swear your fealty anew!"

"Sorceress Edea," Seifer began, assuming the position and licking away the blood that had run onto his lips. The scratches stung, his vision blurred, and his mind grew hazy. Chasing down thoughts felt like running through a bog – heavy, slow, and fruitless. He repeated her name, and mumbled something about loyalty. When he received no response, however, he glanced up and noticed Edea bracing herself against the wall and breathing heavily.

"That … that is all I needed to hear," she said, her voice tired now, robbed of its reverberation. "There may be hope for you, yet." She exhaled slowly and straightened, then headed toward the front of the bridge again.

"Your new orders," she said, as she walked past. "Continue the search for Ellone, but prepare your best troops and keep them on standby. The next time we meet those SeeDs will be the last." She gazed out the window, over Balamb, beyond the mountains, at a point so far in the distance Seifer wondered whether it might exist on a separate plane altogether.

She smiled, beautiful and terrifying. "_I _am the hunter now."


	3. Promise

"Centra." The word passed Edea's lips with a sigh, barely above a whisper.

"Centra? There's nothing there." Seifer looked at the map on the wall in Galbadia Garden's Master Room, strewn with red _X_s – places where they'd searched for Ellone and failed to find the faintest trace of her existence – and let his eyes wander to the barren continent at the bottom of the map. There were no settlements on Centra; no harbors, no transport, no sign of human life for at least the last century.

Why would Edea want to search there?

"Yes, there is," she replied, and provided a set of coordinates. Seifer located the spot on the map. It was at the western tip of the Centra continent, listed as the Cape of Good Hope. "A suite of memories. Rejuvenation. A home."

Seifer turned, and saw her gazing at the map, malice gone from her eyes, a wistful smile on her face.

Edea was fading. Seifer didn't want to admit it, but it was getting harder to deny. In public, she still carried herself with the strength and assuredness he'd been drawn to from the start, and she still spoke with all the power and dark charisma she'd had on the night of Deling's assassination. But those instances were becoming increasingly rare, and in the relative privacy of the Master Room, she let her façade slip, revealing a bone-numbing weariness beneath.

She spent most of her days lounging in a hammock, of sorts, made from swaths of white fabric suspended from the ceiling, lightly dozing, or else staring straight ahead but registering nothing. Sometimes, her eyes would fade from yellow to dark brown, and she would look about herself with uncertainty, and settle on Seifer with an expression of intense recognition, bordering on fear. Then, she would blink, and the yellow would return, bringing with it a surge of strength.

But even those surges didn't last as long, anymore.

Seifer was convinced Ellone was the cure for Edea's declining vitality – why else would Edea be pursuing her so fervently? – and he pushed his forces and resources to their limits to aid in the desperate search.

If that was the case, though, why did Edea suddenly insist on making a detour to an uninhabited continent?

"There is something I must show you," she said, in response to his thoughts, and a chill rippled through his brain. He looked at her, and was startled by the darkness of the eyes that looked back. "Something I must tell you. Seifer. My dear, sweet boy."

"I'm not a boy," he reminded her. "I left that behind when I chose to follow you."

"Chose?" Edea threw her head back, and laughed with a vigor she hadn't shown in days. "Do you really think you had a choice?" She faced him again, yellow eyes glowing like the heart of a wildfire, quickening Seifer's blood and compelling him to kneel. "Do you really place so little value on fate? Do you really strive to deny its power? To deny _my _power?"

"No, my sorceress," Seifer said, staring at the floor.

"Remember, then, that_ I_ chose you. I chose a confused boy, one so desperate to be a hero. So desperate to become a man. So eager, so hungry… so _malleable_. I chose you, Seifer, and I've made you who you are today."

"I am grateful."

Edea sniffed. "You've yet to prove you are. I've given you everything. And you've failed me at every opportunity."

"It won't happen again."

"It had better not. Now, get up. Relay the coordinates to the pilot. I wish to reach Centra before they do."

Seifer bit back his question and exited the Master Room, his pulse still pounding, a strange probing sensation in his head. Edea was wrong. He'd _chosen_ to follow her, he'd chosen to be here, he'd chosen …

… _Nothing_.

No, Edea was _right_; it was fate. He never had to choose, for he had always been destined for greatness. He'd been born superior, a leader of men since he could talk. That's why he'd foundered in Garden, forced to take orders from lesser beings, to follow the wrong path. _This_ had always been his path, his true calling.

From the moment the gears of time had shuddered to life, it had been decided.

Seifer Almasy was meant to be the Sorceress' Knight.

‡ † ‡

Gravel crunched beneath Seifer's boots as he followed Edea toward a ruined stone structure at the end of the cape. Something about this place seemed familiar to him. The rocky terrain; the smell of the sea, so different from that in Balamb; the old lighthouse rising beyond the ruins. It comforted him, warmed his heart with a peace he hadn't known for years.

It was an odd way to feel about a building that looked like it might collapse at any moment.

"Do you remember?" Edea asked, stepping over the remnants of a large wooden gate. Seifer looked at the crumbling pillars around him, at the central structure ahead, at the lions and warriors locked in eternal battle in the frieze along the top, and he remembered.

He remembered … something. A past, a song, a loving voice. Laughter and sunlight and fireworks on the beach. Warm, motherly arms … long, black hair … a smile, a face …

_Matron …_

_Edea._

"Yeah," Seifer replied. "I lived here, with you." It took a moment for him to register what he'd said, but when he did, the comfort in his heart curdled into shame. How many nights had he spent in feverish fantasy, awake and adrift on waves of desire for the woman he served? How many times had he craved her touch, cold as it was, to spark his blood and set his body aflame? How many of his thoughts had hinged on her, on a yearning to know her, as a woman, only to realize now that he had known her all along … as a mother figure?

Disgusted, he turned from her and retched, hurling his shame onto the stones below, until he was empty, but nowhere near absolved. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at her, unable to reconcile the seductive sorceress before him with the humble woman who'd raised him.

She looked back, calmly. "Yes, you did," she said. "You and several other children, children whom I'm sure you know well."

"What do you mean? I don't remember any other –"

"Reflect on your childhood, Seifer. Your sensations, your words, your emotions."

Seifer scowled, but closed his eyes and tried to focus, diving into his memory and snatching at any glimmer that might be relevant. The feeling of comfort returned, then mischief, glee, and … frustration? There were words – _Go back to bed! Crybaby … Crybaby Zell …_

Zell?

_Hey, don't ignore me! Look at me! Look at me when I'm talkin' to you, Squall!_

Squall?

What the hell was going on?

_You're not the boss of me, Quisty! You're gonna be sorry! You're gonna PAY!_

"She never did, the bitch," Seifer spat, unaware he was speaking aloud until Edea made an inquisitive sound. "Yeah," he continued, looking up, "she always got the upper hand, 'til old Cid finally fired her. The only good thing that spineless bastard has done in his life." The words flowed from him, laced with profanity, propelled upward from his chest by a rising plume of anger. "And Squall, strutting around like some kind of hero, a fancy-ass SeeD, when he never earned it. He never earned shit! I taught him everything, I led him to the brink of glory. If it hadn't been for that withdraw order, I'd have been a hero. I'd have been a goddamned _hero_!"

Hyperion was out now, scraping along fallen stones, raising a flurry of sparks like the ones dancing in Seifer's veins. He struck the stones again and again, heedless of the damage he did to his blade, lost to the fantasy of flowing blood and torn flesh unspooling in his mind.

"You still can be," Edea said. "Eliminate Squall, eliminate SeeD, and no one will stand in your way. Reflect on your anger, let it consume you, let it fuel you, let it –" Edea's breath hitched in her throat. "- go."

Seifer's head snapped up at the abrupt change in Edea's voice, and saw tears streaming from dark eyes, features contorted by grief. She approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder, stilling his arm and neutralizing his rage. Exhausted, he collapsed at her feet.

"Let it go, Seifer," she repeated, reaching down and stroking his hair. "Don't let your hatred take over. The burden is not yours to carry. It's mine."

He glanced up sullenly, but said nothing.

"If you are here, in this state, it means I've failed. I've failed to protect you. I've failed to protect Ellone."

"_Protect _Ellone? You ordered me to hunt her!"

"Hunt? No, that wasn't me. Seifer, you must believe me, I did not order Ellone's capture. Ultimecia did."

"Who the hell is Ultimecia?"

"A sorceress from far in the future. I absorbed her powers years ago, but over time, she has taken control of my body. Please, you mustn't let her find Ellone. You must call off the search, Seifer. I beg of you. You must stop this nonsense!"

"Stop? I'm the Sorceress' Knight. A knight doesn't stop."

Edea's hand stilled in his hair, growing cold again. "How right you are," she said, her voice reverberating, hovering between Edea's and that of a complete stranger. She backed away, leaving Seifer on the ground. He looked up and noticed that her eyes were yellow once more, though the trails of dried tears remained.

"Edea was right, too," she went on. "I am Ultimecia, and I have used this woman's body as my vessel in this era. But this vessel is getting old, and weak. I must find a new one soon, and that's where you come in. Destroy SeeD, and clear a path to finding Ellone."

Seifer stared at her, unaccustomed to hearing this voice come from Edea.

"Why do you hesitate? Is it because of some sentimental attachment to the woman before you? She is nothing. Remember, I am the sorceress you serve, not Edea. I am the one who gave you power, I am the one who gave you dreams, and I can take them away as easily. Is that what you desire? To lose all you've gained?"

"No, Ultimecia." Seifer rose to his knees. "I wish to serve you."

"I am unconvinced. Swear your allegiance to me, promise me that you will keep fighting on my behalf, that you will keep running, to the end, no matter how painful it is, no matter how tragic."

Seifer nodded, his pulse pounding in his ears. "I promise. I swear on my beating heart I'll continue to run, until I burn away."

"Excellent. Now rise, Sir Seifer. Let us return to base and prepare. The others will be here soon."

"Others?"

"Edea's children. SeeD. Show me, Sir Seifer, how far you will run. Show me how brightly you burn."

‡ † ‡

Dark to light. Night to day. And nothing in between.

Seifer had never felt the passage of time as keenly as he did after three nights of dreamless sleep. With nothing to fire his imagination and stir his spirit, one day simply melted into the next, and the monotony of waiting for Balamb Garden to arrive in Centra – if they ever did – was maddening.

Had Ultimecia made good on her threat to remove his dreams? Or was she simply offering him a taste of how his life would be should he choose to break his promise?

Whatever the reason, his lack of dreams left Seifer restless and irritable. He stalked the halls of Galbadia Garden, barking orders at every soldier he encountered, drawing Hyperion at the slightest provocation. He was itching for a fight, for the thunder and blood of the battlefield.

Two days later, he got it.

Galbadian scouts reported Balamb Garden's arrival at Edea's house. Balamb was apparently unaware of Galbadia's presence in the area.

Seifer smiled. "Perfect. Assemble the troops according to plan – mounted forces and paratroopers are to make the initial assault. Once we ground Balamb Garden, the rest of you will move in. This is it, men. We're going to war."

He stared straight ahead as Galbadia Garden rose above the surrounding forest, narrowing his eyes when Balamb Garden came into view.

"Crush them."

‡ † ‡

The impact from Balamb Garden sent Seifer flying into the wall, forcing the air from his lungs. He slid to the floor, gasping, and wondered how the tables had turned so quickly. One moment, he was standing on the bridge, watching with barely-restrained glee as his army mowed down groups of his former classmates; the next, he was fleeing from that spot as Balamb's pilot made an unexpected maneuver – straight toward Galbadia Garden.

G-Garden listed dangerously to one side, sending Seifer crashing into the opposite wall, and the sound of grinding metal through the empty hallway. He tried to get up, but gravity pinned him in place as Garden continued to fall. He was thrown forward again, every bone rattling, when Garden righted itself, and as the sound of skirmishes drifted in from the open front gate, his racing thoughts settled on Edea. He had to protect her. He staggered to his feet and limped for the staircase. Clutching the railing, he dragged himself up, step by agonizing step, then shouldered through the door to the Master Room.

Edea lounged within, seemingly unperturbed by the turn of events. She was, however, disappointed at the state of her knight, and motioned him forward to be healed. As the spells washed over his body, Seifer straightened, and explained to her what had happened.

She sighed. "SeeDs are well-known for their tenacity," she said. "You were foolish to underestimate them."

Seifer bowed his head. "Forgive me."

"Forgiveness must be earned, particularly in a case such as yours. You have brought me nothing but disappointment, Seifer. Nothing but failure. And you want me to forgive your latest blunder?" She laughed, a hard, sharp sound that sliced into Seifer's heart and chilled his blood.

"Then I will earn it," he said, drawing Hyperion and assuming his post at Edea's right hand, the only place befitting a knight.

He expected an explosion, or a show of brute force, to announce SeeD's arrival. Instead, he heard the weak beep of the key card reader recognizing a key, and smirked when Squall was the first through the door.

He should've guessed; who else would storm a military base in such a by-the-book manner?

Seifer stepped forward. "Oh, you guys shouldn't have," he said, his voice dripping with sweetness. "I was gonna come visit you at my old home."

"Shut up." Squall was apparently in no mood to indulge Seifer's dramatics this time around.

Seifer huffed, and watched Squall's reinforcements file in. The old orphanage gang, of course. How predictable. How appropriate.

"You guys came to fight Matron?" he asked, chuckling at the recognition in their eyes. "After all that she's done for us?"

His sneer faded, however, when the last person filed in, and took her place beside Squall. Rinoa's face was harder now than it had been last summer; her eyes were colder, and her movements more deliberate. She carried herself with a confidence that was new even to him, a confidence that seemed to come from within herself, not just reflected from the person she stood next to. Seifer scowled and pointed Hyperion at her.

"Rinoa, what are you doing here?" he asked, then softened his expression and tried to appeal to her. "You're gonna fight me, too? Come on, remember, a year ago we –"

"Stop it!" She glared at him, her feet planted firmly where she stood. She had made her choice. Very well, then; she'd have to die by that choice.

Seifer turned toward the person on the other side of Squall. Zell stared back, arms twitching, ready to fight at his leader's command. "Hey, Chicken-wuss," Seifer said, adopting a genial tone. "Lot's happened between us, eh?"

"Yeah!" Zell replied, taking a step forward and shaking his fist. "I'm dyin' to get even!"

"It's too late, Seifer," Squall said, drawing his gunblade. "You can't mess with our minds. To us, you're just another enemy, like one of those monsters."

"You're comparing _me_ to one of them?" Seifer threw his head back and laughed. Of all the lame comparisons Squall could make. Didn't he realize how much closer he was to the monsters he hated? Just mindless force, following orders. He'd never fought _for _anything in his life, never felt he fire of ambition or the thirst for glory. He was just a husk, a puppet, the evil mercenary who dared to challenge the Sorceress' Knight, with no stake of his own in the battle.

"I ain't no monster," Seifer continued, his laughter abating. "I'm the Sorceress' Knight." Yes, her knight, with a purpose far greater than the decree of a soft-bodied headmaster. Seifer stalked the edge of the platform, a delicious irony coming to mind, stretching his lips in a smile so wide, it hurt. He jabbed Hyperion in the air. "And look at you. Attacking like a swarm. You guys are the monsters!"

At that, Squall rushed forward, but Seifer deflected his attack. It was _on_. The final battle for SeeD; the showdown with the Sorceress' Knight.

Seifer recoiled when Rinoa's projectile sliced into his arm, then retaliated with a vicious swipe of Hyperion. Squall was on him before he could even finish the attack, a strange fire glowing in his eyes. Seifer fended him off and frowned. Perhaps he was wrong; perhaps Squall had found something more to fight for, after all. Something that could be used against him. Seifer scanned the faces his enemies, then grinned, and went for Rinoa again.

Squall reacted.

This would be fun.

Unfortunately, Chicken-wuss was also on the front line, and, after healing Rinoa, he launched himself at Seifer with a fury that surpassed his normal hot-headed rage. He screamed while he punched, driving Seifer back with each blow, crying about friends, about family, about home.

His attack left Seifer reeling, doubled-over and frantically searching his coat pocket for a Hi-Potion. He had just opened the bottle when Rinoa's weapon connected again, and Squall's gunblade sent him flying.

He groaned, and rolled over onto his stomach, so the SeeDs couldn't see the pain on his face. He noticed that the room had gone quiet; why wasn't Squall attacking Edea? Did he recognize her as Matron? Would he let her go, after all? Seifer ventured a glance in Edea's direction, and met her smoldering stare.

"Worthless child," she said, then disappeared through a portal in the floor.

Even in his weakened state, rage flared in Seifer's chest. Again, he had failed her. Again, he'd fallen to Squall. No more. He waited until the SeeDs' footsteps faded away, then pushed himself to his knees. He retrieved the Hi-Potion that had been knocked from his hand and downed it, then depleted his remaining supply.

He staggered through Galbadia Garden, clutching his side and sucking air through his teeth, toward the auditorium below the Master Room. When he arrived, Edea was there, speaking to Squall and the others. Seifer crept around the periphery of the room, then climbed the steps to the podium. He straightened when he reached the top, pain screaming through his muscles, but defiance spurring him on. He would not give Squall the satisfaction of seeing him in anything less than a knightly posture.

Edea, on the other hand, saw through his charade. "Worthless fool," she said, and her words tore into Seifer like no weapon ever could. He stumbled backwards and hunched over, but still inserted himself between Edea and the SeeDs once the battle began.

"I'm the Sorceress' Knight," he said, reaffirming his place, his purpose, his dream, even as every breath felt like a dozen daggers shredding his insides. "You'll never … get past me."

Squall's team took that as a challenge, and attacked violently, relentlessly. Seifer was driven back, farther and farther, until he was at Edea's side once more. She didn't spare him a glance; she had already discarded him, he realized, using him one last time only to tire the SeeDs before she eliminated them.

No. He would prove her wrong. He would prove himself worthy of the title of Knight.

"I can't afford to lose," he roared, and charged at Squall. He got a solid hit in, before taking Rinoa's Blaster Edge to the ribs. He withdrew, and instinctively reached into his pocket for a healing item, before he remembered he'd used them all to get here.

A few more attacks and he'd be finished. He tried to defend, tried to fight back, but Squall and his comrades had him outnumbered. Any direction he faced, he'd take damage from two more. In a last-ditch attempt, he stood tall again and summoned a Fira spell, but had no time to cast it before Squall cut him down.

"Damn!" He fell to the floor. "I'm disgraced."

"Useless fool," Edea muttered, then stepped forward to meet her enemies. Seifer drifted at the edge of consciousness for the duration of the battle, but when Edea slumped over and cried out, he scrambled to his feet and ran to her.

And his world shattered.

A blinding purple light emanated from Edea's body, lifting Seifer into the air and over the edge of the podium. He hovered for a moment, until the light faded, and then he fell. He kept falling for what seemed like an eternity, feeling the energy drain from his body, a fog slide into his mind. When he landed, the impact knocked the air from his lungs, and the light from his eyes.

He could feel a chill colder than Edea's touch creeping toward his heart, smothering the fire in his veins. His last thoughts were of failure, of stolen glory. Flickering like a faulty lamp, those thoughts soon vanished, and in the darkness that followed, the cold moved in, wrapping icy tendrils around his heart, stilling it, consuming it.

Dousing the flame within.


	4. Rebirth

The lips that pressed against his were warm and soft, but the kiss was devoid of affection. Nevertheless, it thawed Seifer's heart, set his blood flowing again, and drew him gently from the grip of death, back to the world of the living.

He groaned, more irritably than he intended to – who the hell would get annoyed at being resurrected? – and the person who kissed him pulled away. Seifer opened his eyes, his vision slowly coming into focus, and saw a lock of dark hair against pale skin, bright pink lips, a subtle blush spreading across smooth cheeks.

_Rinoa?_

In response, Rinoa opened her eyes, revealing gleaming yellow irises. She stared at Seifer, but seemed to see straight through him, her expression completely blank.

_Ultimecia?_

A laugh resounded in Seifer's mind, accompanied by the rippling chill he'd become accustomed to.

_Oh, my loyal knight, Seifer,_ Ultimecia replied, trailing Rinoa's fingertips along his cheek. _The sorceress is alive … The sorceress demands._

_I won't fail you again, _Seifer thought._ I'll continue the hunt for Ell—_

_No. I have a new vessel now, and so, have altered my plan. Your new order, Sir Seifer: Find the legendary Lunatic Pandora, said to be hidden beneath the ocean._

_Lunatic … Pandora …_

_Only then will the sorceress provide you with dreams again. _As Ultimecia's voice faded, Rinoa backed away and Seifer rose, free of pain, his wounds healed.

"As you wish, Ultimecia," he said, and walked toward the auditorium exit, noticing along the way that Squall and the others seemed to be frozen in place. He continued walking, down silent corridors, toward the bridge, stepping over corpses – monster and human alike – along the way. He was relieved to find Garden's pilot alive and relatively unharmed, and immediately gave the order for departure.

"I'm sorry, Sir Seifer, but that's impossible," the pilot replied.

"What? Why?"

"See for yourself." The pilot gestured outside the window. Looking out, Seifer could see one end of Galbadia Garden pinned to the ground by Balamb Garden. Groups of cadets and soldiers still clashed below, but many survivors, on both sides, had already retreated.

"So? Shove 'em out of the way."

"We don't have the power for that. Garden sustained significant damage during the battle. We will need to make repairs."

"How long will that take?"

"A couple days to a week, Sir, depending on how many of our technicians survived the battle."

"Dammit!" Seifer ran a hand through his hair, Ultimecia's order throbbing in his head. He glowered at the pilot. "Don't just stand there, gawking! Get on it!"

"Yes, Sir!"

He heard the pilot running down the hall, heard him pause to answer somebody's question. As footsteps drew nearer to the bridge, Seifer unsheathed Hyperion; when the door swung open, he spun around and jabbed it toward the intruders.

"Seifer, Seifer, look, they're gettin' a – _whoa_!" Raijin stopped in his tracks, leaning away from the blade. "What're you doin'? It's just us!"

"Can never be sure." Seifer let his arm drop. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you fighting? There're still enemies around!"

"Nah, we quit a long time ago. We were outnumbered, ya know? Thought we'd leave Squall up to you."

"AFFIRMATIVE." Fujin stepped out from behind Raijin. "BUT SEIFER … LOST?"

Seifer scoffed. "Of course not! I just had a little change of plans. What makes you think I lost?"

Fujin gestured toward the window. "ESCAPED."

Seifer followed her finger and saw Squall walking toward Balamb Garden, carrying Rinoa on his back. The cadets he passed saluted him, then fell in step behind him. Further behind, the remaining four members of the party that had breached Galbadia Garden followed, leading a dainty figure in black among them.

Edea.

Had she gone over to their side? Or had they taken her prisoner? No matter; Ultimecia mentioned having found a new vessel, so the woman Balamb had now was powerless in comparison. A husk, a spent shell … hardly a threat.

"Let 'em go," he said, wandering to the steering mechanism and pushing it to one side. Gears ground and Garden shuddered, then died. The pilot wasn't joking. Garden needed repairs, repairs that would set Ultimecia's plan back significantly. He had to find those technicians right away.

"What?" Raijin shouted. "Let 'em go? We can't, ya know? It's Squall. You can't run away from Squall!"

"Look outside, dumbass! We're not the ones who are running. Balamb Garden's in retreat, and besides, we have a new order, from the sorceress herself."

"The sorceress? Didn't she just –"

"Not Sorceress Edea, Sorceress Ultimecia."

"Who?"

"The true sorceress, the ultimate sorceress, the queen." Seifer smiled. "The most powerful sorceress of all time. And she chose me to do her work. Now, you two do _your _work, and find me every damn technician still alive! We need to get moving, fast!"

Raijin nodded and left the bridge, but Fujin hung back, looking at Seifer and shaking her head.

"WHAT NOW?" she asked.

Seifer laughed and stood behind the steering mechanism, shoving it forward as far as it would go, reveling in the cacophony of squealing, grinding, and rumbling as if it were a symphony suite. "Now, we're gonna shake things up a little. We're gonna start a revolution!"

‡ † ‡

Galbadian technicians, it turned out, were immune to threats and tantrums. Years of working under Deling had inured them to the ranting and posing of men who couldn't tell one type of wrench from another. And now that they didn't have Edea's punishment to fear, they treated Seifer with open contempt, running him off the bridge and threatening mutiny if he continued to rush them.

"It'll get done when it gets done," one of them said, then slammed the door to the bridge. An elite soldier, fully armed, took up his post as guard once more, and motioned for Seifer to leave.

Seifer scowled and reached for Hyperion, but, just as quickly, the soldier raised his gun to Seifer's chest. He motioned once more for Seifer to leave, angling his head down the hallway, and adjusted his grip on the gun.

Seifer cursed and walked away. This was ridiculous. He was losing ground with the Galbadian soldiers, rapidly, his authority constantly chipped away by food and resource shortages, lack of payment, and general restlessness among the troops. He needed to find Lunatic Pandora, fast, before they really did attempt an overthrow. And the only way he could do that was to get Galbadia Garden moving again.

Barred from the bridge, Seifer wandered toward the library, where Fujin was researching Lunatic Pandora's history and possible whereabouts. He found her hunched over a book, with at least a dozen more stacked at her elbow, at one of the study stations in the back.

"Any luck?" he asked, pulling out the chair next to her and sitting down.

Fujin shook her head. "LITTLE INFORMATION."

"It's just you and me right now, Fujin. You can speak normally."

Fujin frowned and opened her mouth, as if to disagree, but evidently thought the better of it, and shrugged, instead. "Fine. I find mentions of Lunatic Pandora in a lot of books, but they all say the same thing." She swallowed hard, and Seifer saw the color mount in her face at the gravelly sound that came from her throat.

"Yeah? And what is that?"

"Lunatic Pandora was an Estharian project ordered by Adel. Rumors say it could create a Lunar Cry all on its own, but I can't verify that. All these books say is that it disappeared, a few days before Adel did."

"Huh."

Fujin looked up and tapped the page she was reading. "You don't understand. Lunatic Pandora is huge! It says here, 'three miles tall, one-and-a-half miles wide.' Something that big doesn't just disappear."

"Neither does a whole country, but Esthar managed that just fine." Seifer paused, recalling Ultimecia's words. "The Pandora _could_ disappear, if it was sunk."

"In the ocean?"

"No, Fujin, Obel Lake. Yeah, the ocean! You got a map in any of those books?"

She slid a book to him, open to a map of the Esthar region, as it looked over twenty years ago.

"So, if Lunatic Pandora's as big as you say it is," Seifer went on, "they probably didn't work on it in Esthar City. And they probably didn't sink it off the west coast, either."

"Maybe not, but how can we be sure?"

"We can't, and that's the problem. Hmm, there're two big bays in Esthar, in the north and south. Wonder if they're deep enough; maybe we should start there."

"What if we're wrong?"

"We can't search everywhere! There isn't time." Seifer slammed the book shut. "Dammit! Why didn't Ultimecia give me any more info to go on? How am I supposed to find this damn thing when I don't even know where to look?"

"You haven't heard from her?" Fujin reclaimed the book and glanced at him, warily, as if she still didn't believe that Ultimecia was any more than a figment of Seifer's imagination.

"No, but if she wants this done, she'd better talk to me soon." He pushed back his chair and rose. "Continue your research, Fujin. Lunatic Pandora's out there, somewhere."

"No shit. And you aren't gonna find it sittin' around here." Seifer jumped at the unexpected voice that came from behind him. He turned and saw a man emerge from between the bookshelves, dressed in a white T-shirt and dark, loose-fitting pants, both likely filched from a dorm room closet. Galbadian army dog tags jostled against his chest as he walked toward them, and he stopped beside Fujin and handed her a book. "Most information about Lunatic Pandora has been scrubbed from these textbooks, and from Garden's internal information systems. Your best bet is the Galbadian Army database, but we can't access that outside of Deling City."

"UNDERSTOOD." Fujin began flipping through the book.

"Hey, wait a minute," Seifer snatched the book away from Fujin and inserted himself between her and the man. "Who the hell are you? How do you know what we're looking for?"

"Major Brandt Hargrave, sir." The man saluted. "I worked with army intelligence under Deling. I came in here one day to see what kind of dreck Garden was filling these kids' heads with, and I saw Fujin here neck-deep in books about the Lunatic Pandora, so I offered to help her find what she needed."

Seifer frowned, first at Hargrave, then at Fujin. "And you just told him everything?" he asked her. Fujin glanced at him from the corner of her eye, then turned her gaze forward. Anger sparked in Seifer's chest, flaring into flame, and he slammed the book back onto the desk. Fujin flinched, but still refused to look at him. He leaned over her menacingly.

"Answer me!" he roared. "You divulged sensitive information to somebody, just because he offered to help? If that's all anyone has to do to get info out of you, you're a damn security risk! Where's your spine, Fujin? Even Squall held up to interrogation better than you. If I'd have known how soft you'd gotten, I'd have let the soldiers deal with both you and Raijin. You're weak, pathe —"

"That's enough," Hargrave shouted. "... Sir. Fujin did nothing wrong. I'm not the enemy. And the information she shared is common knowledge among Galbadian intelligence."

"Is it, now?" Seifer spared Fujin one last look before turning to Hargrave. Unspent rage seared the back of his throat, constricting his voice. "That implies you've got plenty more knowledge to share, Major."

"I do." Hargrave was a few inches shorter than Seifer, but completely unintimidated by him. He stood his ground, jaw set, arms crossed, eyes strangely calm.

Something about his gaze unnerved Seifer, and he had to glance away for a moment.

"So you see," Hargrave continued, the trace of a grin appearing on his lips, "you should be glad Fujin accepted my help. Following those voices in your head would've only gotten you so far. _Sir_."

"Damn you!" Seifer raised his hand to strike him, but restrained himself. Hargrave was too valuable to hurt right now. Later, maybe, once he'd gotten all the information he needed; he'd walk him up to the bridge, fling him out the window, and watch the propeller slice him to ribbons. Seifer smirked, his anger temporarily appeased by his fantasy, and straightened.

"So," he said, clearing his throat and trying to reclaim his authority, "spill it. What do you know about the Lunatic Pandora?"

"Off the top of my head, not much more than you do. But I do have access to the army's database, and once we return to Deling City, I'll pull up all the info you need." He chuckled at Seifer's scowl. "I can tell you this much right now, though. Lunatic Pandora's nowhere near where you were planning to start your search."

"Go on."

"Neither of the bays in Esthar is deep enough to completely submerge the Pandora. Few places in the world are. But the Rinauld Trench, running south from Trabia, between Balamb and the Esthar continent, is. And that's where you'll find the Pandora." Hargrave availed himself of the chair Seifer had vacated, and began thumbing through one of the books on the desk.

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You can confirm it when we get to Deling City. With all its flashy technology, Esthar still couldn't manage to conceal Lunatic Pandora. Galbadian satellite surveillance tracked its movement, preparing for an attack, and noticed it go down in the trench. The coordinates are in the database."

"Hold on, you're telling me that Galbadia has known where Lunatic Pandora is all along?" Seifer scoffed. "Why didn't they use it, then? Why are they letting it rot underwater?"

"Firstly, Esthar-grade materials are not likely to rot, even underwater. You should see some of the samples Galbadia managed to get a hold of back then. And secondly," Hargrave turned to face him, "Lunatic Pandora is bad news, to put it mildly. There's a good chance those rumors about a connection between the Pandora and a Lunar Cry are true. If that's the case, Galbadia probably didn't want to risk obliterating themselves." He studied Seifer for a moment, then leaned back in the chair. "Which begs the question: why do _you _want it?"

"I've got a better question," Seifer fired back. "If Lunatic Pandora's as bad as you say it is, why would you help me find it?"

Hargrave smiled. "I've got my reasons, but let's just call it overzealous patriotism, and leave it at that."

"Fine. As long as you stay out of my way. And be ready to go the second we reach Deling!"

"Yes, sir." Hargrave stood and saluted, then nodded at Fujin, and left the library.

"TRUST HIM?" Fujin asked, still not meeting Seifer's eyes.

"We'll have to." Seifer sat down again with a sigh. "He's the best lead we've got. But once we find Lunatic Pandora, he's history."

‡ † ‡

The card reader beeped in recognition of Hargrave's badge, and he led Seifer into a dimly lit room with rows of computer terminals, and an oversized screen stretching across the opposite end. Seifer entered warily, one hand on Hyperion's handle, searching every nook and shadow for a possible ambush. Hargrave sat at a terminal on the far side of the room, facing Seifer, and asked him to remain where he was.

"Listen, I give the orders around here," Seifer said, walking toward Hargrave. "I'll stand anywhere I damn well like."

"I understand. But with all that authority, did Edea remember to give you the access code to the database, as well?" Hargrave's voice was calm, his gaze steady. When Seifer didn't answer, he laughed and typed something into the system. The large screen flashed to life, displaying the Galbadian army insignia.

"Truth is, sir," Hargrave continued, "I don't trust you. At all. You've earned a reputation for being brutal and reckless, and I'd quite prefer to leave this room alive. Just stay where you are; the info'll show up on the screen, and I'll print out what you need."

Seifer gave a low growl, but acquiesced, leaning against the doorframe, ready to stop Hargrave if he made a run for it. Hargrave continued typing, keystrokes echoing in the silent room, and soon, a schematic of a looming structure appeared on the screen.

"This is Lunatic Pandora," Hargrave said. "According to the info we have, the Pandora itself is nothing more than a enclosure for something called the Crystal Pillar. We don't have the specifics on it, but apparently, the pillar causes a reaction with materials in the Pandora's control console, which enables the entire structure to float. It can then be moved to any point of the controller's choosing. That it was sunk in the ocean without the escort of Estharian ships implies that it has an auto-pilot feature, as well. That, or there are a few bodies on board."

"I don't care about that! Just give me the damn coordinates!"

"Calm down and wait. What good is it to know where the Pandora is, if you can't move it from that spot?"

"And how do I know any of this information is accurate, to begin with?"

"Because it comes directly from Esthar." Hargrave continued inputting terms and codes, pulling up more drawings, writings, and series of numbers. "One of the guys who worked on the Lunatic Pandora project also worked for the Adel Resistance. When he shared info from the lab with other members of the resistance, he obviously couldn't do so through the Estharian government's official network, which was – _is _– virtually bulletproof. Instead, he used his home network, which was riddled with vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities that were easy for Galbadia to exploit. Any more questions?"

"Yeah." Seifer squinted at the image of the Lunatic Pandora on the screen. "How the hell are we supposed to get inside that thing? It looks rock-solid."

In response, Hargrave zoomed in on the diagram. "The main entry is located near the bottom of the Pandora," he said, "but you'd have to wait until the entire structure has emerged to access it. However, there is a hatch near the top, as well, likely used for maintenance. This will be the easiest for a dive team to access, and, according to the plans we have, they should be able to reach the control panel from there and initiate movement. Once the Pandora begins to rise, you will have approximately fifteen to twenty minutes to access that hatch before whatever vessel you're in will need to move away. You obviously can't take the entire Galbadian force on board; just get as many as you can in there, and you're all set."

"Fine. Now, give me the coordinates!"

"Just a second, sir." Hargrave hit a few keys, and the printer next to Seifer whirred, sliding out a single sheet of paper. Seifer picked it up and turned it over, then glared at Hargrave.

"There's the little issue of my payment," Hargrave went on. "You didn't think I'd just give you all of this for nothing, did you? I demand a full honorable discharge from the Galbadian Army, effective immediately, or you can kiss this shit goodbye."

A dialogue box popped up on the screen, offering the option to power down the system. Seifer looked from the discharge certificate in his hand, the line above his printed name awaiting his signature, back to Hargrave. Glowering at him, he crumpled the certificate in his fist and tossed it over his shoulder; then, unsheathing Hyperion, he stalked toward the back of the room.

Hargrave stood up, drawing a pistol from his waistband and leveling it at Seifer. "Perhaps you'd like to reconsider," he said. "I've got a family to get back to, and I don't care how I do that. If I off you here, who's gonna know? Or care? Who am I gonna answer to? Galbadia's in chaos, thanks to your precious sorceress, and I'm not about to pass up this opportunity. Now, put that weapon on the floor, 'cause if I die, this screen goes dark."

One swift move. That's all it would take. Seifer adjusted his grip on Hyperion and considered the distance between himself and Hargrave. He'd faced down armed soldiers before; there was nothing to it. Duck and dodge and get close enough, then swipe across their stomach, and it was over. He could do it. Just one swift move.

But it wasn't Hargrave's trigger finger he was worried about. It took a lot less effort to push one computer key than it did to fire a weapon, and he was certain Hargrave would do so the moment he moved forward.

_Find the Lunatic Pandora … the sorceress demands._

Ultimecia's voice echoed in Seifer's mind, reminding him of his true mission: to serve the sorceress at any cost, even at the humiliation of standing down against a subordinate. Besides, Hargrave was only one soldier, one who Seifer could track down at any time to deliver proper retribution.

Cursing, he stooped and laid Hyperion on the floor. Hargrave smiled and canceled the shutdown operation, but kept a wary eye on Seifer.

"Let's try this again," he said, printing the discharge certificate. Seifer signed on the line above his name, and set the paper on a table halfway between Hargrave and the door. The printer began whirring again, churning out sheet after sheet, all of them full of information and diagrams, but no coordinates.

"They're coming," Hargrave said, picking up his certificate and keeping his gun trained on Seifer. "They're at the end of the queue. You should be fine – unless, of course, the printer runs dry." He laughed, then backed out the door, whistling as he walked down the hallway.

The cheerful tune enflamed Seifer's blood, and he ripped several terminals free of their cables and flung them against the wall. He stood at the printer for perhaps five more minutes, his breath catching in his throat when it fell silent. He turned over the last sheet in the output tray, and sure enough, the coordinates were printed across it.

"Are you happy?"' he shouted into the air. "I just humiliated myself for you. Now, will you finally tell me what the hell to do next?"

_Yes._

Seifer shivered as a chill raced through his brain. He hadn't expected a response.

_Dear knight, you make the sorceress very happy. Your loyalty is beyond reproach. Go forth and raise the Lunatic Pandora._

Though the sorceress wasn't in the room, Seifer felt the familiar compulsion to kneel. "As you wish, Ultimecia."

_Take it to Tears' Point in Esthar and unite the sorceresses. _

"Unite?"

_I will provide, if you obey. Lunatic Pandora … the final resting place of this world, the cradle of the next. The sorceresses as one. Time shall compress. All existence denied._

_Now, rise, dear knight, and do my bidding. Revolutionize the world._

_Revolutionize eternity._


	5. Revolutionary

A blue shimmer crested the horizon, and, as Lunatic Pandora continued its eastward path, the city of Esthar rose, sparkling and cool against the harsh landscape surrounding it. Seifer stared as they approached, wondering how the Estharians had managed to keep such a massive city hidden from the rest of the world, and fighting the urge to linger and explore it in greater detail.

Just as Esthar had not disappeared, however, neither had its soldiers, and, as the Lunatic Pandora approached the first of the city's elevated streets, the internal communications system crackled to life.

"Sir Seifer, Estharian forces are attacking the base of the Pandora," a Galbadian soldier said. "Permission to engage?"

"Granted." Seifer peered out the window from his perch on the podium in the Lunatic Pandora's audience chamber, but the shape of the structure made it impossible to see what was directly beneath him. "And once you've taken these guys out," he continued, "deploy an escort for the Pandora through the city."

"Yes, Sir!" The system fell silent again.

"AMAZING." Fujin said, walking to the window and pressing her hands against it, gaping at the city spread before them. "BEAUTIFUL."

"Yeah." Raijin joined her, and pressed his whole face against the glass to get a better view. "The old-timers say Esthar was high-tech, ya know, but I didn't expect this! Hey, this doesn't look like such a bad place. Maybe we can come back, ya know, and look around?"

"Sure, Raijin," Seifer said, glaring down at him. "The Estharians will welcome us with open arms, and thank us for salvaging their piece of war junk and flying it through town." He shook his head. "No. Take a good look right now, guys, 'cause once we leave, we ain't comin' back."

"You're no fun," Raijin muttered, and Seifer was considering descending the podium to deliver a well-deserved smack to his head, when a shout came over the intercom, startling all of them.

"SeeD!" Panic wavered through the soldier's voice. "Sir Seifer, we've encountered SeeD! Engaging now!"

_SeeD_? What the hell was SeeD doing in Esthar? How did they even get here? Seifer scanned the city before him for signs of the full remaining force from Balamb Garden, but could see nothing but bright blue skyways, and panicked Estharians running for cover.

"Take 'em all out," he ordered. "I guess they didn't get enough in Centra."

"But –"

"Take 'em out! What's so hard to understand?"

"They're not alone."

"What are you talking about?"

"The sorceress —" The soldier swallowed audibly "— Edea is with them!"

"What?"

"Edea. She's with two SeeDs. Shit, they've taken down our men … breaching the entrance …"

"What the hell are you guys doing down there?" Seifer roared, drawing Hyperion and slicing through the air in front of him. "You can't stop a tiny group of SeeDs? I'm coming down, right now, and –"

"No! Stay where you are, sir. Deploying Mobile Type 8. It will stop them before they reach you. Tracking their movement … they don't seem to know where they're going …"

Seifer gave a strangled scream and sheathed Hyperion once more. "You'd better be right," he said, "or I'll have your hides along with theirs."

"Understood, sir," the soldier replied, his voice steadier now, likely out of concentration. "The intruders have boarded Elevator 1. Proceeding through passage … toward audience chamber. Deploying Mobile Type 8 now … engaging …"

Through the door, Seifer could hear a low rumble, along with several voices shouting. Then, a high-pitched whine, startled cries, and more rumbling.

Silence followed.

"Success!" the soldier said over the intercom. "Mobile Type 8 has successfully expelled the intruders. You're safe now, sir. Nothing to worry about, sir."

"Oh, I have plenty to worry about, starting with your stupidity! Nobody else boards the Pandora, got it? Nobody else!"

"Copy that, sir."

Seifer sighed, running a hand through his hair and pacing the width of the podium. _Edea_. What was she doing with SeeD? Hadn't they tried to kill her? Did she still have some power, even if Ultimecia had left her? How much did she know about his plan? How much did she remember of what they'd discussed?

And, once again, how had SeeD ended up in Esthar?

The lack of answers, or even any kind of underlying logic, wedged in Seifer's chest, turning like a knife with each breath, digging deeper. Finally, with wordless growl, he activated the intercom and ordered the soldiers at the control panel to double the Pandora's speed.

"It's already at eighty percent," a soldier responded.

"Then ramp it up to one hundred! Do I have to tell you everything? Can't you think for yourselves?" He turned from the intercom and descended the podium, joining Fujin and Raijin at the window. Both of them eyed him warily, but said nothing; they'd learned, in the past few weeks, when to keep their thoughts to themselves, and Seifer appreciated this development.

The Lunatic Pandora had left Esthar City behind during the panic with the SeeDs, and now drifted past small, isolated structures, toward what appeared to be an array of panels in the distance. The intercom crackled again, and answered Seifer's unvoiced question.

"Approaching Tears' Point," the soldier said. "Estimated time to destination, forty-five minutes."

"Excellent." Seifer's worries about Edea and SeeD evaporated as Tears' Point came into view. Once Lunatic Pandora arrived, they wouldn't matter anymore. Nothing would. Ultimecia would provide.

The sorceresses would unite.

A new world would begin.

And Seifer would lead the charge.

‡ † ‡

The Crystal Pillar hummed as Lunatic Pandora entered Tears' Point, a low sound that reverberated in Seifer's chest made his head ache. The sound rose in pitch as Lunatic Pandora neared the center, and the Crystal Pillar began to tremble. Fujin and Raijin cried out and backed away from the window as the shaking increased, and, with a final, seismic shudder, the entire structure shifted into place.

The movement stopped, but the singing continued, and the sky above them turned the color of rust. The strange boxes arrayed around the center of Tears' Point glowed brightly, then went dark, one by one. The singing of the crystal was joined by another sound, deep and rumbling, and the rust-colored sky turned to blood, raining down streams of viscous fluid, chunks of rock, and bodies of creatures Seifer had only seen in old textbooks.

The Lunar Cry.

Is this what Ultimecia had had in mind? Why? Was she trying to get rid of him? Doubt tugged at his stomach as he dove beneath the podium's overhang, hoping it would provide enough shelter once the lunar debris hit the Pandora.

Curiously, though, none did. Stealing a glance out the window, he noticed that the Lunatic Pandora seemed to have an effect similar to an umbrella; approaching the glass and looking down, he also noticed that Tears' Point seemed to be diffusing the stream of from the moon. There was no crater, like there had been in Centra; the land remained intact, albeit overrun with monsters.

Fujin and Raijin watched the event unfold in uncharacteristic silence, Raijin pacing back and forth in front of the window, unable to disguise the trembling in his arms. Fujin administered a kick to his shin, and he hopped around for several seconds, before resuming his pacing. Seifer joined them, and was about to admonish Raijin for acting so childish, when a light from above forced them all to shield their eyes.

They moved their hands to their ears moments later, as the Crystal Pillar's reverberations reached a skull-splitting pitch, and something heavy descended around them, coming to a stop with a soul-shaking thud.

"Wha – what was that?" Raijin asked, grasping Seifer's arm. Seifer shook him off and turned toward the source of the noise.

"No idea," he said, unsheathing Hyperion. "But I'm gonna go find out."

"AFFIRMATIVE," Fujin said, following him.

"Hey, guys, don't leave me," Raijin cried behind them. "It's not safe, ya know? What if you get killed? Who'll lead us then? C'mon, Seifer, think about it …"

Seifer groaned. "He's not gonna shut up, is he?"

"LIKELY NOT."

"Stay with him, then. I'll be back."

"CAUTION."

Seifer chuckled. It wasn't like Fujin to openly show concern for him. Did she really think he was that out of shape that he couldn't handle whatever was behind that door? Or maybe she getting attached to him. Either way, it was hilarious. He dismissed her worry with a cavalier wave, then exited the audience chamber.

Ahead of him, nothing looked different; to his left, however, a bridge had materialized between the main walkway and a series of platforms, each connected by a ladder. As he ascended, he realized that the platforms led to another walkway, part of a larger structure, that looked, from his vantage point, like a giant pair of wings lying down. An entrance to the structure appeared at the end of the walkway. Tensing his muscles and scanning his surroundings, Seifer entered.

And came face-to-face with the largest person he'd ever seen.

Easily several times Seifer's height, this person was immobile, suspended in a substance within a large container. Seifer approached, unable to determine this person's gender from where he stood, desperate to see more detail.

_Adel_.

Ultimecia's voice echoed through the structure, seemingly coming from the containment chamber. Seifer looked at the person inside and blinked.

"_Sorceress _Adel?" he asked. "The tyrant of Esthar? I thought they killed her off."

_No. She was simply removed. No human can eradicate sorceress powers. It seems they've even given up trying._

"Is this your new vessel?"

_My second. The first will arrive, shortly. Before she does, however, you must bring me one other person: Ellone._

"I thought you'd given up searching for her."

_I had. But I've had a serendipitous revelation._ Ultimecia laughed, an icy trill that sent a shiver down Seifer's spine. _You will find her south of Tears' Point. Hurry. I will remain here until Adel awakens, and then I will launch my plan. Go now, loyal knight. Find Ellone. She is here._

Ultimecia rattled off a set of numbers, repeating herself as Seifer left the containment structure. Returning to the audience chamber, mumbling the coordinates, he pushed past Fujin and Raijin, and activated the intercom.

"New orders," he said, and dispatched a group of his remaining soldiers to the coordinates. Then, turning toward the window, he stretched and smiled. Finally. Ultimecia's preparations were nearly complete; he assumed his reward was also forthcoming.

"INFORMATION." Fujin's voice was cold and hard, and, when Seifer glanced down at her, he saw her eye matched. "WHAT DID YOU FIND?"

His smile widened. "The queen," he answered, sitting on the edge of the podium and letting his legs hang down. "Ultimecia's here."

"WHERE?"

"Adel, too," Seifer went on, ignoring her.

"Adel?" Raijin cried, scrambling to the foot of the podium and looking up at Seifer. "As in, _Sorceress _Adel? The one who disappeared? I gotta see this! It's unbelievable, ya know? Where is she, Seifer? Is she pretty? Can we meet her? How did she – _yow_!" His stream of questions was interrupted by another kick to his shin. Fujin glared at him, then turned her glare on Seifer.

"ADEL. HOW? WHY? INFORMATION."

"She came down with the Lunar Cry," Seifer explained, swinging his legs. "I guess Esthar's brilliant idea was to just shoot her up at the moon. Real geniuses, eh? Whaddaya say, Raijin? Still wanna check out their city?"

"Uh …" Raijin glanced from Seifer to Fujin, then shuffled out of her range. "Can we?"

"Go away, Raijin. Go wait with the soldiers downstairs. I'm expecting a delivery."

"Delivery? Food?"

"A person. Now go on, get outta here, and leave me in peace!"

"Oh. Right, ya know?"

As he jogged out of the audience chamber, Fujin placed a hand on her hip and shook her head. "ME TOO? LEAVE YOU?"

Seifer considered for a moment. "Yes, you, too. Leave me alone, both of you." He noticed Fujin's shoulders spasm, saw the corners of her mouth draw tight, and he smirked. "You've been nothin' but dead weight," he went on, watching her flinch with each word. "Lucky for you, you get one last chance to prove yourselves. Go wait for our guest with Raijin. Make her feel at home."

‡ † ‡

"You don't remember me, do you?" Ellone said, her voice quiet, but steady. She stood in the far corner of the audience chamber, radiating an unnatural calm, as if resigned to her fate … or somehow aware that this was not it.

"Should I?" Seifer asked, straining his ears to hear anything that was happening outside. SeeD had breached the Lunatic Pandora, this time with one of Esthar's old airships, and Raijin and Fujin had gone to confront them. They seemed to be the only force he had left; the soldiers who had retrieved Ellone walked away from Tears' Point immediately afterward, either surrendering to Esthar or dying beneath the unforgiving sun. Now, he couldn't even hear them, and he had no idea what was going on.

"We grew up together." Ellone grinned sadly. "Or, at least, we spent a few years together. You really don't remember? It was at Edea's orphanage."

"Oh. There. So, you're one of them. Shoulda known."

"You were always such an angry child. I don't know why. Maybe you were hurting. Is that it? Is that why you always wanted to hurt the other children?"

"What the hell is this, an interrogation? I don't know why I beat up on the other kids; maybe I just liked to! Anyway, that's in the past. I hardly remember it."

"I can help you. I can show you the past. We can work together, find out what went wrong, fix what's happening now. You don't have to be like this, Sei –"

"Shut up! I never asked for your opinion, and I definitely never asked for your help! You're not here to reconnect with me or whatever weird shit you've got in mind. You're here because Ultimecia needs you here. Now, if that damned Adel would just wake the hell up, this'd all be over."

"Why would you bring back Adel?" Ellone continued, just as calmly as before, uncowed by Seifer's outburst. "Do you know what she did? Do you know how many people she hurt, how many she killed?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. Ultimecia wants her back, and I'm just followin' orders."

"And Ultimecia. Why do you serve her?"

"I'm her knight. It's my job."

Ellone shook her head. "A knight is supposed to protect his sorceress, not help her wreak havoc."

"This isn't havoc, it's a revolution. We're gonna revolutionize eternity."

"So, you're not a knight, then. You're a revolutionary."

Seifer scoffed. "Knight, revolutionary, same difference. They both mean the same thing: _hero_. I'm the hero. Not Squall or Trepe or Chicken-Wuss. _Me_. And, after this revolution, _everyone _will know it!"

Before Ellone could reply, a low, rumbling sound came from the other side of the door, and Fujin and Raijin burst into the room.

"What are you guys doing here?" Seifer asked. "Tell me you got rid of SeeD."

"NEGATIVE." Fujin swallowed hard, short of breath.

"Fujin's right, ya know. We didn't get 'em." Raijin held up his hands against Seifer's rebuke. "B-but – hang on, Seifer, don't get mad – we got that robot thingy to work. Right outside. That Mobile Type-whatever, ya know? It'll take care of 'em!"

"You idiots!" Seifer clenched his fists and stared down at them. "What if it doesn't stop them? How hard is it to take care of a group of SeeDs?"

"CALLOUS."

"Yeah, like Fu said! It's Squall." Raijin shrugged. "He's mean, and so are his friends. We told 'em to stay away, jus' like you said. We told 'em to hand over Rinoa. That's when Squall got really pissed, ya know? Said he was comin' for Ellone, too, and that he won't let you wake up Adel, neither!"

"He's too late for that," Seifer said, flinching as the sound of an explosion came from beyond the door. "But he's here now. All right, time for both of you show me that you're not completely worthless. Fujin, grab Ellone. Raijin, get ready." He unsheathed Hyperion. "It's showtime."

The door to the audience chamber slid open, and Squall stalked through, Rinoa and Zell on his heels, the rest of the party guarding the doorway from outside. He glanced around the room, and made a sweeping gesture with his arm. "We've come to take back Ellone."

Seifer laughed. "Well, what do you know? Raijin, Fujin, looks like we got company. Show 'em your hospitality."

Raijin nodded, and advanced toward Squall, slowly, cautiously, glancing at Fujin along the way.

"RAIJIN, STOP." Fujin shook her head, and Raijin did as he was told.

Seifer frowned. "What's up?"

"We've had enough, ya know …" Raijin said, turning to face him. Fujin, meanwhile, released Ellone's arms and shoved her toward Squall.

"GO." She joined Raijin and looked up at Seifer.

"Hey, hey," Seifer said, watching Ellone run out the door. "Come on, people."

"Seifer, we're quittin', ya know?" Raijin said. "Don't know what's right anymore, ya know …?"

"Exactly my thoughts. What do you mean you're quitting? You can't quit. I thought we were a posse."

"POSSE." Fujin lingered on the word, as if turning it over in her mind, trying to reconcile the camaraderie it implied with the increasingly strained relationship she and Raijin had with Seifer. Shaking her head, she went on, her rough voice strangely amplified in the large room. "We are. We always will be. Because we're a posse, we want to help you."

Seifer raised his eyebrows. Fujin had never dared to speak in complete sentences in front of anyone but him and Raijin. And he'd never heard that tone from her before, so gentle and imploring, despite the jagged edges of her voice; so similar to Edea's when she wasn't under Ultimecia's control, so similar to Ellone's just a while ago. Saying the same thing as they did: _help. _She wanted to _help _him. Help him with what? He didn't need any help; he needed action. Someone to take out Squall and bring back Ellone, someone to actually be useful to him.

"Thanks," he said, "but I don't need your help."

Fujin stood her ground. "But … you're being manipulated, Seifer. You've lost yourself and your dream. You're just eating out of someone's hand … someone we don't even know is real."

"Hey, just because she doesn't talk to you –"

"We want the old you back!" Fujin raised her voice. "And since we can't get through to you, all we have now to rely on is Squall! It's sad … sad that we only have Squall to rely on." She blinked rapidly, and drew a shuddering breath. "Seifer! Are you still gonna keep goin'?"

He looked at her, saw her features more open than he ever had, more vulnerable, more human. For an instant, something flickered in his chest, cool and comforting; an apology was already forming on his tongue when other words slid into his mind. _Show me how far you will run. Show me how brightly you burn._

The coolness in his chest dissipated, replaced by roaring flame. He shrugged, then raised Hyperion in front of himself, drawing back the hammer with a click that echoed off the walls. "Raijin, Fujin! It's been fun!"

He stared at the far wall, at a spot above the doorway, as his former comrades left the room. When he was certain they were out of sight, he turned his attention to Squall, leaping down from the podium and approaching him directly.

"Are you going to continue with this knight thing?" Squall asked, one hand on his hip.

"The knight has retired," Seifer replied, recalling Ellone's words. "I guess you could call me a 'young revolutionary.'"

"Revolutionary? What do you think you're doing?"

"I've always gotta be doing somethin' _big_! I don't wanna stop. I'm gonna keep running!" Seifer raised Hyperion in the air, like he'd done the day Edea handed control of the Galbadian army to him. It seemed like so long ago, and he'd seemed so innocent then, but that was just proof of how far he'd come since.

"I've come this far," he said aloud, to himself as much as to Squall. "I'm gonna make it to the end! To the goal! And there's no way I'm sharing it with _you_!" He pointed Hyperion at Squall. "Show me what you got, Squall. Let me add another scar for ya!"

Squall and the others eagerly took him up on the challenge. Much as they had at Galbadia Garden, they swarmed him, leaving him no time between attacks to heal. Very well … he'd just have to charge ahead, then. Cut them down, one by one, before they finished him off. He managed to knock out Zell for a few minutes, and got several good attacks on both Squall and Rinoa in the meantime. But, as Rinoa revived Zell and Squall moved in to attack again, Seifer could feel himself losing ground.

What would happen if he lost this time? Would Squall go for Adel? For Ultimecia? He had to protect them; revolutionary or not, he was first and foremost the Sorceress' Knight. He had to survive this battle, even if he couldn't win. He staggered backwards as attack after attack connected, fighting back only sporadically, until most of his strength was gone.

With a guttural scream, he sank to the floor, defeated, but not dead. He lay there for what felt like an eternity, waiting for Squall's party to leave, waiting for a chance to rise and sprint toward Adel's chamber.

But they refused to move. He heard soft footsteps approach, and opened his eyes a crack to see small boots, and thin legs above. Rinoa. She stood there for a moment; then, with a sigh, she said his name and walked away.

It was just one word, but it incensed him. The way she'd said it: sad, tired, full of pity. _Pity_. How dare she feel pity for him! How dare she think he was low enough to deserve sympathy from someone like her. He was the Sorceress' Knight; even in defeat, he was leagues above her and the others.

Rage smoldered in his chest, tugging at his muscles, pulling him upright with the alacrity of someone fresh from a full night's rest.

"Not yet!" he cried. "It's not over yet, Squall!" He ran from the room, intending to head directly to Adel, but spotted Squall's comrades conferring with an older gentleman at the end of the walkway. Talking … and paying no heed to Rinoa approaching them from behind. He passed the bridge to the platform in a few strides and reached out, wrapping his fingers around Rinoa's arm and pulling her to him. She started in his grasp, and a rush of white-hot energy shot out from her shoulder blades, driving Seifer back and forming large, ephemeral wings. She turned to face him, eyes wide and golden.

_Unbelievable._

Rinoa was a sorceress. The final component of Ultimecia's plan.

_I will provide, if you obey_. Ultimecia's voice played in Seifer's mind. _Bring me the sorceress. The sorceresses as one. My ultimate wish._

"As you command," Seifer murmured, then pushed through the heat of Rinoa's wings to grab her once more, and drag her up the ladders, to Adel.

She'd made enough fuss that he knew Squall would arrive soon, but he felt confident he didn't need long to put Ultimecia's plan into action. When they entered the chamber where Adel stood, Rinoa fell silent. Adel had awakened, and watched their approach through crimson eyes. Rinoa tried to back away, but Seifer pressed Hyperion's blade against her back and nudged her forward.

"Seifer," she cried. "Stop it! Haven't you done enough? I know you're not like that!"

"Then you don't know me at all," he replied. "Even if I wasn't 'like that,' I can't go back now. I can't go anywhere!" He continued advancing, hypnotized by Adel's eyes, by the singing of the golden threads binding her. "The sorceresses as one! That is Ultimecia's _wish_!"

"Seifer … No more." Rinoa's voice was tired, an undercurrent of fear jostling each syllable. "Please?"

Seifer chuckled. She'd always thought she was more charming than she was; she'd talked her way into and out of scrapes so many times. But this would not be one of those. He said her name, intending to leave her with the realization that the trust she'd placed in him the year before led to her end at his hands, a lovely irony, but Squall's shouts echoing through the chamber reminded him that he didn't have the luxury of time to waste.

"Rinoa and Adel," he said, loudly enough for Squall to hear. "The sorceresses as one! Watch closely, Squall!" He shoved Rinoa forward and backed away. In her containment cell, Adel smiled, stretched her arms, and reached toward Rinoa. The golden threads broke with sharp pinging sounds as the containment structure failed, and, with a vicious lunge, Adel snatched Rinoa off the floor.

A cacophony of screams followed Seifer toward the door, but he knew Squall would be far too preoccupied with Adel to chase him down now. He sprinted through the Lunatic Pandora, slipping on the smooth crystal floors, willing the elevator to move more quickly. He considered the jump from the hatch at the bottom of the Pandora to the statues of Tears' Point below, but figured this was the only way Raijin and Fujin could have left, and made the leap.

He never landed.

As he left the Lunatic Pandora behind, space warped around him, becoming malleable, then completely fluid, sucking him into the sky as if into quicksand, releasing him in a place he'd never seen before.

What the hell? What the hell was going on?

In response, Ultimecia spoke again.

_Time shall compress. All existence denied. Thank you, dear knight, for your loyalty, your service._

Seifer looked down, and saw that he was hovering over the ocean, the remains of his tattered coat billowing around him.

_But I require your service no longer. Farewell._

Like a pebble released from a giant hand, Seifer plummeted toward the water, his mind gone blank, his chest empty. He spoke but one word as his legs broke the surface:

"Ultimecia."

His body sank, as if made of stone, deeper and deeper, the sea around him growing darker and darker, until he fell through the bottom of the ocean and onto a rocky shore. Amazingly unhurt, he rose and studied his surroundings. The sea smelled familiar here, different than in Galbadia, different than in Balamb. The rough terrain tugged at his memories, the remains of a stone building in the distance flooded him with warmth. Above him, the clouds parted, bathing the coast in moonlight, drawing his attention to an enormous metal object.

The link of a chain. Following the chain, he saw a castle floating in the sky, moored to the end of the continent, dark and sharp against the moon. Once again, a solitary word passed his lips:

"Ultimecia."


	6. Until I Burn Away

Ultimecia. She was here. Seifer could _feel_ her, feel the familiar chill tingle in his bones, the tickle deep inside his head. She was here, he was here, and that could mean only one thing.

She'd given him another chance.

Somewhere in the chaos, she'd changed her mind. She realized she still needed a knight, and so, had brought him to her home.

Well, close to her home, at least. Unfortunately, Seifer would need to figure out the rest of the way for himself. He mulled over the chain. If it was strong enough to hold her castle in place, then it definitely could support his weight. He stepped onto the first link, holding out his arms for balance, searching for a surface flat enough to put his foot on. The middle of the link seemed his best bet, if he took long strides to avoid the hole in the center. He looked up at the castle once more; then, taking a deep breath, he began his ascent.

The first few links were easy to cross, but as Seifer followed the chain over the water, his weight and the wind caused it to swing. He stopped and crouched low, waiting for the movement to calm before continuing. Below him, waves crashed against the rocks, sending up a fine mist that the wind carried over him, making the metal slippery underneath his feet. He slowed his progress, considering each movement carefully, slipping now and again and landing hard against the chain. Still, he pushed forward.

For there was nowhere else to go. In this strange place, which seemed to exist outside of time itself, he had no home, no allies, possibly even no name. All he had for certain was the job he'd always aspired to, but even that was useless with no sorceress to serve. So, he continued along the chain, toward the castle, toward Ultimecia, toward the only scrap of his identity left to salvage.

Halfway between the castle and the shore, the angle of the chain became steeper, and Seifer dropped to his hands and knees to scale the remainder of the links. The wind picked up, and sea spray soaked his clothes and hair, and slickened the metal beneath his fingers. He lost his grip and slid backwards, jagged bits of rusted chain tearing into his flesh. He shook the water from his hair, wiped the blood onto his pants, and tried again, saltwater stinging his eyes and his wounds alike, desperation clawing at his heart.

When, at last, he hauled himself onto the land surrounding the castle, he paused for breath and studied his surroundings. Though it had felt as though it had taken him a small eternity to make the climb from the shore, the moon had not moved at all. Clouds raced across it, and on the same cold wind that drove them, a sharp, thin sound reached Seifer's ears.

A laugh. Ultimecia's laugh.

She _was_ here. Seifer smiled, his heart relaxing, warmth returning to his veins. He rose and turned to face the castle, but as the clouds moved past, the moonlight revealed a terrible truth: there was no way to enter from where Seifer stood.

Walls blocked his every path, their surfaces too smooth to climb, their tops adored with spikes and thorns to punish any who tried. Seifer cursed and paced the small piece of land he stood on, rage enflaming his blood. He made several unsuccessful attempts to scale the wall, and punched the stone as he slid down, splitting the skin over his knuckles.

"Dammit!" he cried. "What the hell am I supposed to do? What do you want, Ultimecia? Why'd you bring me here if you won't even let me in? Answer me, dammit!"

The wind gusted, raising a surge of sea spray, and gave way to a drawn-out sigh. An _irritated_ sigh.

_What a nuisance._

"Ultimecia?"

_It seems the vermin are restless tonight. Did I not tell you I needed you no longer? Do you never learn?_

"Then why'd you bring me here?" Seifer looked around, hoping Ultimecia might reconsider, hoping she'd open a portal somewhere and allow him inside. "You could've dropped me anywhere; you could've let me die. If you really didn't want me, how come I'm here, with you?"

_You brought yourself here. You thought of me while time compressed, and now you are here. An unfortunate flaw in the spell, nothing more._ She gave a short laugh, edged with ice. _Pity you showed no such devotion inside the Lunatic Pandora. Pity you ran from your duties, ran from Adel, ran from_ me.

"I didn't run from you!"

_Then from what did you run? From whom? From SeeD?_

"No, I — I ..." Seifer trailed off, his arms falling limp at his sides as he realized that was exactly what he'd done. He delivered Rinoa to Ultimecia, and then he fled. He didn't fight, he didn't protect Adel or Ultimecia, he didn't give Squall what he'd had coming for years. Instead, he ran.

From the sorceress.

From his destiny.

From _Squall_.

The realization struck him like a shot to the chest. He staggered backwards, feeling his heart chill at the edges, frost creeping in and spreading throughout his body. Ultimecia laughed again, long and heartily, this time, as Seifer backed away from the castle. When his foot met only air beneath him, he pulled it back and glanced up toward the moon once more.

"I failed you," he said, his voice hardly more than a whisper. He stretched his arms wide and let his weight carry him backwards, off the island, into the air, toward the ocean below.

"Forgive me."

He closed his eyes during his descent, prepared to feel his bones shatter against the surface of the water, wondering whether death would come quickly, or whether he would struggle below the waves. But, as had happened before, he never landed.

The air stopped moving around him, the sensation of falling faded, and Seifer opened his eyes to see a world suspended in time. Below him, waves froze in place, and water droplets hung in midair against the shore. From somewhere far above, he heard a soul-splitting howl, and the castle dissolved into light.

The light did not stop at the castle, however, and spread outward, swallowing everything in its path. Seifer tried to move out of the way, but found he was as frozen as his surroundings. He squeezed his eyes shut as the light approached, and surrendered to it with only a whimper, two words streaming through his mind.

"Forgive me."

‡ † ‡

He awoke on dry ground, the earth crumbling to dust beneath his fingers. Raising himself slowly to his knees, he looked around. The land was barren and cracked, above him an undulating sky the color of dirty oil.

Where was he? Was he dead?

He looked at his hands, saw the gashes from the chain still fresh in his palms and coated black with dirt, and figured that whatever this place was, it wasn't the afterlife.

"No use sittin' around here," he muttered, and pushed himself the rest of the way up. His feet ached with each step, and he stumbled forward, gracelessly, a mere shadow of the cocky knight he'd been not so long ago.

He scanned the horizon for any structures, any landscape features, any indication of life or location. Nothing. He wasn't even sure he was moving. Still, there was little else for him to do but keep walking.

And keep thinking. He tried to remember how he ended up here, the place he'd been just before, and what he'd done there. All he could remember was a light, and a pair of words that rattled in the space his memories had been.

_Forgive me_.

Forgive? For what? Who had he been begging forgiveness from? Seifer Almasy would never seek forgiveness; he never even apologized.

"'Pologize, Seifer! Say you're sorry!" A tiny voice sliced through the air behind him. Seifer spun around to locate its source, and saw a little girl standing not ten feet away from him, dressed in green overalls, her hair flipped up at the ends. Behind her, a boy in a pale green shirt was crying, an empty birdcage swinging from his hand.

"You let that bird go on purpose," the little girl continued, stamping her foot. "You promised Irvy you'd take care of it, but you let it go. You broke your promise, Seifer! You're a very, very bad boy, and I don't like you. Say you're sorry! You broke your promise!"

_You broke your promise_.

Another voice, calm and matronly, came from the opposite direction as the children in front of Seifer faded. Seifer turned only his head to investigate its source, his memory struggling to place it, churning and failing like an engine that refused to turn over. Soon, a figure appeared in his peripheral vision, and a woman in a black dress stepped in front of him. She was looking down, long dark hair hiding her face.

_You broke your promise, Seifer Almasy._ She didn't actually speak, Seifer realized, so much as she transferred her words directly into his mind. He opened his mouth and stammered a bit, trying to remember just what had been so important about that damn bird for this woman to make such a dramatic fuss. _How can you expect to be forgiven?_

Memory returned, hazy and fragmented, and Seifer blinked at the woman before him. "Edea," he whispered. "Matron."

In response, Edea raised her head, strands of hair parting to reveal yellow eyes atop a glowing red beak. Her sleeves transformed into wings, and she cocked her head, from one side to the other, like a curious bird.

Seifer staggered backwards with an inarticulate shout.

_Apologize, Seifer,_ she said. _Apologize, and you might be forgiven._

"What the hell? Apologize for _what_? I'm not about to take the blame for somethin' I can't even remember! Why don't you tell me, huh? Tell me what in the goddamned hell I have to apologize for!"

_You broke your promise._ Edea advanced toward him. _Your promise._ She continued, spreading her wings and repeating herself. Talons sprouted from her feet, tearing through her shoes, and she lifted into the air. She circled above him several times, still chanting her refrain, before diving straight toward his face.

Seifer screamed and batted her away, then turned and ran.

_Yes, that's it! Run, failed knight, run! Run like you always do! Run until you burn away!_

Another scrap of memory surfaced, jabbing into Seifer's mind, bringing him to an abrupt stop.

"Until I burn away," he mumbled, short of breath.

"That's what you promised."

A sweet voice, a friendly voice. The kindest voice Seifer had heard in a long time. He searched for it, noticing the sky soften around him, into a pale yellow light like that of the sunrise. At his feet, sprigs of grass popped up through the parched soil, growing within moments into a field of delicate flowers, cut through by a well-worn path. He looked up, and at the end of that path, stood a girl in blue.

Rinoa.

Had she come for him? Would she help him find his way out? Did this mean she'd forgiven him? He smiled and walked toward her, saying her name. She didn't turn around. Still, he advanced, his heart filled to bursting with gratitude he'd thought long extinguished, and flung himself to the ground at her feet.

"Rinoa," he said, "am I ever glad to see you! How'd you get here? Do you know the way out? This is one screwed-up shithole if I've ever seen one. Let's go. C'mon, take me out of here."

Rinoa giggled, quietly, her shoulders shaking. "You're not running," she said, in sing-song.

"What? Running? Where to?" Seifer's brow furrowed, anger simmering in his chest. "Hey, I don't know where the hell I am! How am I supposed to know where to run? You got in here, somehow; _you_ tell me where to go!"

Rinoa laughed harder, wrapping her arms around her torso and leaning forward.

"Hey, listen to me!" Seifer rose and reached toward her. "Tell me how to get out of here, you stupid little bitch, or I'll —"

An eruption of wings drove him backwards, stumbling, and he landed hard on the ground, gaping at the display before him. The wings protruding from Rinoa's back were not the bright ones he'd seen in the Lunatic Pandora. These wings were black and spindly, dripping dark ichor and giving off a foul odor. Yet, they looked familiar.

... _Adel_.

"You're not running," Rinoa said again, her voice mingling now with one much harsher, much lower. She laughed again, then turned around slowly, and Seifer cried out and scrambled away from her. Her eyes were pools of pitch, dark tears streaming from the corners, and her smile stretched her face into a grotesque mask. Adel and Rinoa, the sorceresses as one.

Ultimecia's wish.

_Ultimecia_.

Rinoa laughed again and repeated herself, the flowers under her feet contracting, surrounding her legs and lifting her high above Seifer, coalescing into a new body, one the height of three men.

"You broke your promise. Keep running."

Seifer did as he was told, not out of loyalty to the abomination in front of him, but out of the purest fear he'd felt in years. Where was he? What was happening? Why was he seeing so many strange things? With no answers, he kept running, into the wasteland, until he collapsed under the oily sky.

_Poor, poor boy. _

Seifer opened his eyes and saw the bottom of a black dress. Edea, again. He ventured a glance at the rest of her, and saw the sorceress from his memory, beautiful and cold, but human once more.

_You don't which way to turn. Don't be ashamed. After all, you're only a little boy._

"I'm not," Seifer rasped, his throat burning. "I'm not a boy."

_Oh? And what are you, then? You're not a man. Men keep their promises._

"Promise? What promise?" Seifer raised himself to his elbows. "How can I keep a promise I don't even remember?"

Edea reached down and wrapped cold fingers around his arm. Then, without effort, she pulled him to his feet. _Until you burn away._

The words ran through Seifer's mind with a jolt. "I-I'm the Sorceress' Knight," he said, a grin tugging at his lips. "That's who I am. I'm the Sorceress' Knight, and I'll keep being that until the end. I'll keep runnin' for you, until I burn away. Yeah ... I remember now."

_But you didn't. You didn't run for me. You ran for yourself._

Seifer's grin disappeared. He sank to his knees and bowed his head. "Forgive me, Sorceress."

_Forgiveness must be earned. Rise, dear knight, and prove to me you deserve it._ Edea stepped close to him, and cupped his face in her hand. The familiar sensations flared to life inside Seifer once more, the ice in her touch and the fire in his blood, the attraction and the shame. Edea trailed her fingers down his cheek, down his neck, and across his chest, sending shivers throughout his body. Then, smiling up at him, she plunged her fingers into his chest, slicing through flesh and muscle and bone, and pulled out his heart, still beating, for him to see.

Seifer's mouth fell open, and he grasped at the gaping wound in his body, coating his fingers in his own life's blood, searing his skin with the heat within. He expected at any second to fall over, dead; yet he stood, still and terrified. How was that possible?

Edea raised his heart before her lips and blew on it, drawing a weak glow from the organ that she soon coaxed into a fierce flame. She smiled at him once more and replaced his heart, as quickly as she'd drawn it out, leaving no scar behind, only an excruciating burn in Seifer's chest. Bracing herself against his shoulders, she rose to tiptoe and brought her lips to his ear.

_Run._

It was a command straight to his heart, one which his brain had no choice but to obey. He began to run, feeling the flame inside him grow hotter with each step, pushing forward though he had no destination in mind. The fire inside him continued to rage, sending up a flurry of sparks with each footfall. Several of them caught the ragged hem of his coat, and moved hungrily upward. He swatted at the flames, but only managed to transfer them to his sleeves. He tried to shrug off his coat, but the material clung to his skin. The fire in his chest burned brighter, hotter, through his muscle and flesh and shirt, engulfing him in its heat.

Still, he ran, for there was nothing more for him to do. He ran as flesh fell from his bones in charred ribbons, he ran as the fire consumed his eyes. When his legs burned away beneath him, he collapsed, but continued to drag himself forward until nothing remained.

Until he burned away.

‡ † ‡

He was still burning. How was that possible?

He was burning, and bobbing gently. Around him, he heard the ocean, the calls of sea birds, and the shouts of men, but his eyes refused to open.

"Hey!" Someone shouted, shaking his arm. "Hey, man, you all right? Say somethin'! Y'think he's alive? Hey, hey, wake up!"

Seifer groaned and stirred, and heard a raucous cheer. He felt hands around his arms, felt his body being lifted, and then fell back into a realm of cold and ash.

‡ † ‡

"Man, you gave us a scare, ya know!" Raijin sat on a chair next to Seifer's bed and peered at him, his eyebrows drawn together into a single dark line.

"AGREED." Fujin looked at him from a corner of a dingy, cluttered room. "FEARED DEAD. REUNITED. RELIEVED."

"But how the heck didja end up out there? You're lucky those fishermen found you, ya know? You're already super sunburned!"

"What?" Seifer sat up, memories fading in. Fisherman's Horizon. He'd been found clinging to a buoy at sea, sunburned and dehydrated, with no idea of how he'd gotten there. All he remembered was burning, and when he told the fishermen that, they simply attributed it to the sun.

But it hadn't been the sun. The burn had come from within. He'd burned away, to nothing but ash. But who would believe that? He looked pretty solid now.

"I said, you scared us!" Raijin smiled and slapped Seifer on the back, his hand stinging the tender skin there.

"Hey, watch it! What're you two doin' here? Why aren't you in Balamb?"

"Balamb?" Raijin laughed. "Whoa, did you hit your head out there, Seifer? We can't go back to Balamb! Not after what we did, ya know?"

"NOT REMEMBER?" Fujin frowned. "LUNATIC PANDORA. ESTHAR. ADEL."

Seifer nodded. He remembered finding the Lunatic Pandora, and taking it to Tears' Point on ... _somebody's_ orders, but he thought he'd done it alone. If Raijin and Fujin really were with him, though, what were they doing in FH now? How the hell did they escape Esthar?

"Ran through a dry lake," Raijin answered with a shrug when Seifer asked. "Soldiers ran us outta Esthar, ya know, threw us into the dry lake. Me an' Fu walked and walked and found our way out. Then we followed some train tracks, ya know, and we walked and walked some more, and ended up here. The people here are real nice, ya know? Took us in right away."

"AFFIRMATIVE. NO QUESTIONS."

"Really? Huh." Seifer leaned back against his pillow and closed his eyes. Some of the details of that story sounded familiar. They'd probably told it to him before; and they'd probably have to tell it a few more times before it stuck. Wherever he'd been, it had really screwed with his mind.

He was relieved to discover that the effects were not permanent. Within a little more than a week, his strength had returned, and he began to explore the town. Fujin was right; the citizens of FH asked no questions. They lived in the moment, with a disregard for the past that bordered on contempt.

"Who hasn't done somethin' they're not proud of?" one of the fishermen said. "Hell, half of the old-timers here worked on weapons for Adel. Nah, all that matters is what you do goin' forward. Ain't nothin' that can't be outrun, long as you don't look back."

A perfect philosophy. A perfect town. Seifer could imagine staying there forever, working on the docks or on a fishing boat. And he did stay, for several months, passing idle afternoons fishing with Raijin and Fujin, not even bothering to duck out of sight that day Balamb Garden drifted overhead, bound for who-cares-where. Instead, he smiled up at them, and hoped somebody at Garden saw him. Hoped they saw that he was doing well — doing _spectacularly_ — without them.

Seifer Almasy would not be kept down.

Under a brilliant sky, he cast a line out to sea and felt, for the first time in years, truly at peace.

‡ † ‡

The dreams began slowly, as subtly warped details tinged with darkness. Seifer would wake from each one coated in sweat, his heart hammering in his chest, a fire running through his veins.

The sunlight seemed to burn him now, and he ran through cans of sunburn salve at an alarming pace. The shopkeeper even called in a doctor from Timber to check him out, but the doctor found nothing wrong and simply advised him to stay covered.

But the burn came from within, as well, and even as winter winds buffeted the town, Seifer felt the need to shed his coat, and sometimes, his shirt. Even sitting still indoors caused him to sweat, and his sleep became more uneasy, his dreams darker and deeper, playing out beneath an oily sky.

"You're not run-ning. You're not run-ning." Children chanted, hands clasped, and danced in a circle around him. Their smiles were wide, too wide for their little faces, and their eyes were black and oozing. They moved clockwise, then opposite, out and then in, closer and closer each time until they were on top of him. Then, one tiny hand pressed against his chest, through his clothes and skin and ribs, and pulled out his heart, stubby fingers dripping blood.

"It's still here," the child said, frowning. "It hasn't burned away. You broke your promise."

"You broke your prom-ise, you broke your prom-ise," the children chanted, resuming their dance while their companion replaced Seifer's heart. "You're not run-ning. Time to run away."

He woke from the dream gradually, grasping at his chest and groaning. His heart was still there, but it felt like a hot coal inside of him. The heat coursed through his veins and he cried out, stumbling from his bed and tearing through the inn, leaping off the dock outside to cool his burning body.

_Time to run away._

He'd stayed too long. What had he said those months ago, a lifetime removed from who he was now? "I swear on my beating heart," he murmured, "I'll continue to run, until I burn away." He sighed. "But I haven't burned away yet. So I gotta keep running?"

He received no answer. Who was left to answer him?

He pulled himself onto the dock, letting the water stream down his body, half-expecting to hear it sizzle dry. "I burned once," he went on. "Wasn't that enough for you? Leave me alone. Let me live."

He was almost back to the inn when an icy gust sent a chill up his spine, and over his head.

_Show me ... how brightly you burn._

‡ † ‡

"Man, why do we gotta leave?" Raijin stood on the dock, shifting a bag of his belongings from one hand to the other. "FH was _home_, ya know? Where're we gonna find another? It's not like anybody likes us no more, ya know?"

"Fine, then stay here." Seifer scowled at him. "I got my reasons for leavin', and I don't need any crybabies coming along!"

"REASONS? EXPLAIN." Fujin glanced at him, then looked toward the sea.

"I don't have to explain anything to you two. I just don't wanna stay cooped up in one place for the rest of my life. That's not who I am."

"UNDERSTOOD."

"But, hey, if you don't like it, you can stay here with Raijin. No one's forcing you to leave FH."

"Hey, I didn't say I was stayin', ya know?" Raijin said. "Where you go, we all go. We're a posse, remember?"

Seifer gave a dry laugh. "Posse. Not anymore. That was Garden shit. Grow up, Raijin, and leave it behind."

"NOT POSSE, THEN. FRIENDS." Fujin smiled and turned to him. " FRIENDS STAY TOGETHER."

"Sure, whatever you guys want. It's your life. Just stop complainin' and stay out of my way. _I_ make the decisions around here – where we go, where we stay, what we eat. Got it?"

"Sure thing, Seifer! We're with you all the way, ya know?" Raijin slung his bag over his shoulder as the boat arrived.

"WHERE TO?" Fujin asked, gathering her belongings.

"Don't know yet," Seifer said with a sigh. "We'll figure it out on the way. You sure you guys wanna come along? Last chance."

Fujin laughed, and when the boat came to a stop, she tossed her bag in and jumped after it. Raijin, with an excited whoop, followed suit. Seifer shook his head and boarded the boat, unable to deny that those two kindled a different kind of warmth inside of him. He'd never admit it, but he was glad they stuck with him. They gave him a respite from his dreams, a distraction from the fire in his heart.

Over and over, they'd buoy him in the darkness, laugh with him on the good days, and pack up their meager belongings with hardly a word each time he needed to move on.

Even as the time between moves grew shorter over the years.

After they left FH, they left off questioning his motives, as well. He appreciated it, but in the cool moments of later years, he wished they would ask, so that he might dislodge the regret that had crystallized in his burning heart.

He ran because of a promise. One made in the impetuousness of youth. A promise that bound him through all time, and demanded no less from him than his life.

He didn't need the dreams to spur him into action anymore, though they haunted him still, and would do so for the rest of his days. He finally understood the covenant he'd forged so long ago, and realized that, through it, Ultimecia kept up her end.

She'd made the boy a man.

And because he was a man, and a man keeps his promises, he would continue to run.

Until he burned away.

‡ The † End ‡


End file.
